MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 


•UNIV.  OF  CALIF.  LTBKARY.  tOS  ANnW,F.!T 


BY  THE  SAME  AUTHOR 

PATTY  SERIES 

PATTY  FAIRFIELD 
PATTY  AT  HOME 
PATTY  IN  THE  CITY 
PATTY'S  SUMMER  DAYS 
PATTY  IN  PARIS 
PATTY'S  FRIENDS 
PATTY'S  PLEASURE  TRIP 
PATTY'S  SUCCESS 
PATTY'S  MOTOR  CAR 
PATTY'S  BUTTERFLY  DAYS 

MARJORIE  SERIES 

MARJORIE'S  VACATION 
MARJORIE'S  BUSY  DAYS 
MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 
MARJORIE  IN  COMMAND 
MARJORIE'S  MAYTIME 
MARJORIE  AT  SEACOTE 


'Here's  the  book/  said  Miss  Hart,  .  .  .  'How 
many  leaves  has  it?'  "    (page  200) 


MARJORIE'S 
NEW  FRIEND 

BY 

CAROLYN  WELLS 


AUTHOR  OF 
THE  "PATTY"  BOOKS 


GROSSET   &   DUNLAP 

PUBLISHERS  NEW   YORK 

Made  in  Oie  United  States  of  Ame.ic* 


Copyright,  1909,  by 

DODD,  MEAD  AND  COMPANY 

Published,  September,  1900 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.  A  BOTHERSOME  BAG     ...»  1 

II.  A  WELCOME  CHRISTMAS  GIFT    .        .  15 

III.  MERRY   CHRISTMAS!      ....  29 

IV.  HAPPY  NEW  YEAR!      ....  43 

V.  A  TEARFUL  TIME         ....  59 

VI.  THE  GOING  OF  GLADYS       ...  73 

VII.  THE  COMING  OF  DELIGHT  ...  88 

VIII.  A  VISIT  TO  CINDERELLA       ,       .        .  104 

IX.  A  STRAW-RIDE 119 

X.  MAKING  VALENTINES   .        .        .        .135 

XI.  MARJORIE  CAPTIVE       .        .        .        .150 

XII.  Miss  HART  HELPS        .        .        .        .164 

XIII.  GOLDFISH  AND  KITTENS       .        .        .  179 

XIV.  A  PLEASANT  SCHOOL   ....  195 
XV.  A  SEA  TRIP 210 

XVI.  A   VALENTINE   PARTY          .        .        .  223 

XVII.  A  JINKS  AUCTION        ....  238 

XVIII.  HONEST  CONFESSION     ....  254 

XIX.  A  VISIT  FROM  GLADYS         .        .        .  268 

XX.  CHESSY  CATS  283 


213353S 


CHAPTER   I 

A  BOTHERSOME  BAG 

"  MOTHEK,  are  you  there  ?  " 

"  Yes,  Marjorie;  what  is  it,  dear?  " 

"  Nothing.  I  just  wanted  to  know.  Is  Kitty 
there?  " 

"  No ;  I'm  alone,  except  for  Baby  Rosy.  Are 
jou  bothered?  " 

"  Yes,  awfully.  Please  tell  me  the  minute  Kitty 
comes.  I  want  to  see  her." 

"  Yes,  dearie.    I  wish  I  could  help  you." 

"Oh,  I  wish  you  could!  You'd  be  just  the 
one ! " 

This  somewhat  unintelligible  conversation  is  ex- 
plained by  the  fact  that  while  Mrs.  Maynard  sat  by 
a  table  in  the  large,  well-lighted  living-room,  and 
Rosy  Posy  was  playing  near  her  on  the  floor, 
Marjorie  was  concealed  behind  a  large  folding 
screen  in  a  distant  corner. 


2  MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

The  four  Japanese  panels  of  the  screen  were  ad- 
justed so  that  they  enclosed  the  corner  as  a  tiny 
room,  and  in  it  sat  Mar j  one,  looking  Yery  much 
troubled,  and  staring  blankly  at  a  rather  hopeless- 
looking  mass  of  brocaded  silk  and  light-green  satin, 
on  which  she  had  been  sewing.  The  more  she  looked 
at  it,  and  the  more  she  endeavored  to  pull  it  into 
shape,  the  more  perplexed  she  became. 

"  I  never  saw  such  a  thing ! "  she  murmured,  to 
herself.  "  You  turn  it  straight,  and  then  it's 
wrong  side  out, — and  then  you  turn  it  back,  and 
still  it's  wrong  side  out !  I  wish  I  could  ask  Mother 
about  it ! " 

The  exasperating  silk  affair  was  a  fancy  work- 
bag  which  Marjorie  was  trying  to  make  for  her 
mother's  Christmas  present.  And  that  her  mother 
should  not  know  of  the  gift,  which  was  to  be  a 
surprise,  of  course,  Marjorie  worked  on  it  while 
sitting  behind  the  screen.  It  was  a  most  useful 
arrangement,  for  often  Kitty,  and,  sometimes, 
even  Kingdon,  took  refuge  behind  its  conceal- 
ing panels,  when  making  or  wrapping  up  gifts 
for  each  other  that  must  not  be  seen  until  Christ- 
mas Day. 

Indeed,  at  this  hour,  between  dusk  and  dinner 
time,  the  screened  off  corner  was  rarely  unoccupied. 


A  BOTHERSOME  BAG  3 

It  was  a  carefully-kept  rule  that  no  one  was  to 
intrude  if  any  one  else  was  in  there,  unless,  of 
course,  by  invitation  of  the  one  in  possession. 
Marjorie  did  not  like  to  sew,  and  was  not  very 
adept  at  it,  but  she  had  tried  very  hard  to  make 
this  bag  neatly,  that  it  might  be  presentable 
enough  for  her  mother  to  carry  when  she  went 
anywhere  and  carried  her  work. 

So  Midget  had  bought  a  lovely  pattern  of  bro- 
caded silk  for  the  outside,  and  a  dainty  pale  green 
satin  for  the  lining.  She  had  seamed  up  the  two 
materials  separately,  and  then  had  joined  them  at 
the  top,  thinking  that  when  she  turned  them,  the 
bag  would  be  neatly  lined,  and  ready  for  the  in- 
troduction of  a  pretty  ribbon  that  should  gather  it 
at  the  top.  But,  instead,  when  she  sewed  her  two 
bags  together,  they  did  not  turn  into  each  other 
right  at  all.  She  had  done  her  sewing  with  both 
bags  wrong  side  out,  thinking  they  would  turn  in 
such  a  way  as  to  conceal  all  the  seams.  But  in- 
stead of  that,  not  only  were  all  the  seams  on 
the  outside,  but  only  the  wrong  sides  of  the 
pretty  materials  showed,  and  turn  and  twist  it 
as  she  would,  Marjorie  could  not  make  it  come 
right. 

Her  mother   could  have   shown  her  where  the 


*  MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

trouble  lay,  but  Marjorie  couldn't  consult  her  as  ta 
her  own  surprise,  so  she  sat  and  stared  at  the  ex- 
asperating bag  until  Kitty  came. 

"  Come  in  here,  Kit,"  called  Midget,  and  Kitty 
carefully  squeezed  herself  inside  the  screen. 

"Whkt's  the  matter,  Mopsy?  Oh,  is  it 
Mother's » 

"  Sh !  "  said  Marjorie  warningly,  for  Kitty  was 
apt  to  speak  out  thoughtlessly,  and  Mrs.  Maynard 
was  easily  within  hearing. 

"  I  can't  make  it  turn  right,"  she  whispered ; 
"  see  if  you  can." 

Kitty  obligingly  took  the  bag,  but  the  more 
she  turned  and  twisted  it,  the  more  obstinately  it 
refused  to  get  right  side  out. 

"  You've  sewed  it  wrong,"  she  whispered  back. 

"  I  know  that, — but  what's  the  way  to  sew  it 
right.  I  can't  see  where  I  made  the  mistake." 

"  No,  nor  I.  You'd  think  it  would  turn, 
wouldn't  you  ?  " 

Kitty  kept  turning  the  bag,  now  brocaded  side 
out,  now  lining  side  out,  but  always  the  seams 
were  outside,  and  the  right  side  of  the  materials 
invisible. 

"  I  never  saw  anything  so  queer,"  said  Kitty; 
"  it's  bewitched !  Maybe  King  could  help  us." 


A  BOTHERSOME  BAG  5 

Kingdon  had  just  come  in,  so  they  called  him  to 
the  consultation. 

"  It  is  queer,"  he  said,  after  the  situation  was 
noiselessly  explained  to  him.  "  It's  just  like  my 
skatebag,  that  Mother  made,  only  the  seams  of 
that  don't  show." 

"  Go  get  it,  King,"  said  Marjorie  hopefully. 
"  Maybe  I  can  get  this  right  then.  Don't  let 
Mother  see  it." 

So  King  went  for  his  skatebag,  and  with  it 
stuffed  inside  his  jacket,  returned  to  his  perplexed 
sisters. 

"  No ;  I  don't  see  how  she  did  it,"  declared  Mar- 
jorie, at  last,  after  a  close  inspection  of  the  neatly- 
made  bag,  with  all  its  seams  properly  out  of  sight, 
and  its  material  and  lining  both  showing  their 
right  sides.  "  I'll  have  to  give  it  to  her  this 
way." 

"  You  can't !  "  said  Kitty,  looking  at  the  absurd 
thing. 

"  But  what  can  I  do,  Kit  ?  It's  only  a  week  till 
Christmas  now,  and  I  can't  begin  anything  else  for 
Mother.  I've  lots  of  things  to  finish  yet." 

"  Here's  Father,"  said  Kitty,  as  she  heard  his 
voice  outside ;  "  perhaps  he  can  fix  it." 

"  Men  don't  know  about  fancy  work,"  said  Mar- 


6  MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

jorie,  but  even  as  she  spoke  hope  rose  in  her  heart, 
for  Mr.  Maynard  had  often  proved  knowing  in 
matters  supposed  to  be  outside  his  ken. 

"  Oh,  Father,  come  in  here,  please ;  in  behind  the 
screen.  You  go  out,  King  and  Kitty,  so  there'll 
be  room." 

Those  invited  to  leave  did  so,  and  Mr.  Maynard 
came  in  and  smiled  at  his  eldest  daughter's  de- 
spairing face. 

"What's  the  trouble,  Mopsy  midget?  Oh,  mil- 
linery? You  don't  expect  me  to  hemstitch,  do 
you?  What's  that  you're  making,  a  young  sofa- 
cushion  ?  " 

"  Don't  speak  so  loud,  Father.  It's  a  Christmas 
present  I'm  making  for  Mother,  and  it  won't  go 
right.  If  you  can't  help  me,  I  don't  know  what  I'll 
do.  I've  tried  every  way,  but  it's  always  wrong 
side  out ! " 

"  What  a  hateful  disposition  it  must  have !  But 
what  is  it  ?  " 

Marjorie  put  her  lips  to  her  father's  ear,  and 
whispered ;  "  It's  a  bag ;  I  mean  it's  meant  to  be 
one,  for  Mother  to  carry  to  sewing  society.  I  can 
sew  it  well  enough,  but  I  can't  make  it  get  right 
side  out ! " 

"  Now,  Mopsy,  dear,  you  know  I'd  do  anything 


in  the  world  to  help  you  that  I  possibly  can ;  but 
I'm  afraid  this  is  a  huckleberry  above  my  persim- 
mons ! " 

"  But,  Father,  here's  King's  skatebag.  Mother 
made  it,  and  can't  you  see  by  that  how  it's  to  go  ?  '* 

"  H'm, — let  me  see.  I  suppose  if  I  must  pull 
you  out  of  this  slough  of  despond,  I  must.  Now 
all  these  seams  are  turned  in,  and  all  yours  are 
outside." 

"  Yes ;  and  how  can  we  get  them  inside  ?  There's 
no  place  to  turn  them  to." 

Mr.  Maynard  examined  both  bags  minutely. 

"  Aha !  "  he  said  at  last ;  "  do  you  know  how  they 
put  the  milk  in  the  cocoanut,  Marjorie?  " 

"  No,-  sir." 

"  Well,  neither  do  I.  But  I  see  a  way  to  get  these 
seams  inside  and  let  your  pretty  silks  put  their 
best  face  foremost.  Have  you  a  pair  of  scissors?  " 

"  Yes,  here  they  are." 

Mr.  Maynard  deftly  ripped  a  few  stitches,  leav- 
ing an  opening  of  a  couple  of  inches  in  one  of  the 
seams  of  the  lining.  Through  this  opening  he 
carefully  pulled  the  whole  of  both  materials,  thus 
reversing  the  whole  thing.  When  it  had  all  come 
through,  he  pulled  and  patted  it  smooth,  and,  be- 
hold !  the  bag  was  all  as  it  should  be,  and  there  re- 


8  MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

mained  only  the  tiny  opening  he  had  ripped  in  the 
lining  to  be  sewed  up  again. 

"  That  you  must  cat-stitch,  or  whatever  you  call 
it,"  he  said,  "  as  neatly  as  you  can.  And  it  will 
never  show,  on  a  galloping  horse  on  a  dark  night." 

"  Blindstitch,  you  mean,"  said  Marjorie ;  "  yes, 
I  can  do  that.  Oh,  Father,  how  clever  you  are! 
How  did  you  know  how  to  do  it?  " 

"  Well,  to  be  honest,  I  saw  a  similar  place  in  the 
lining  of  the  skate  bag.  So  I  concluded  that  was 
the  most  approved  way  to  make  bags.  Can  you 
finish  it  now  ?  " 

"  Oh,  yes ;  I've  only  to  stitch  a  sort  of  casing 
and  run  a  ribbon  in  for  the  strings.  Thank  you 
lots,  Father  dear.  You  always  help  me  out.  But 
I  was  afraid  this  was  out  of  your  line." 

"  It  isn't  exactly  in  my  day's  work,  as  a  rule ; 
but  I'm  always  glad  to  assist  a  fair  lady  in  distress. 
Any  other  orders,  mademoiselle  ?  " 

"  Not  to-night,  brave  sir.  But  you  might  call 
in,  any  time  you're  passing." 

"  Suppose  I  should  pop  in  when  you're  engaged 
on  a  token  of  regard  and  esteem  for  my  noble 
self?  " 

"  No  danger !  Your  Christmas  present  is  all 
done  and  put  away.  I  had  Mother's  help  on  that." 


A  BOTHERSOME  BAG  9 

"  Well,  then  it's  sure  to  be  satisfactory.  Then 
I  will  bid  you  adieu,  trusting  to  meet  you  again  at 
dinner." 

"  All  right,"  said  Marjorie,  who  had  neatly 
blindstitched  the  little  ripped  place,  and  was  now 
making  the  casing  for  the  ribbons. 

By  dinner  time  the  bag  was  nearly  done,  and 
she  went  to  the  table  with  a  light  heart,  knowing 
that  she  could  finish  her  mother's  present  that 
evening. 

"  Who  is  the  dinner  for  this  year  ?  "  asked  Mr. 
Maynard,  as  the  family  sat  round  their  own  dinner 
table. 

"  Oh,  the  Simpsons,"  said  Marjorie,  in  a  tone  of 
decision.  "  You  know  Mr.  Simpson  is  still  in  the 
hospital,  and  they're  awfully  poor." 

It  was  the  Maynards'  habit  to  send,  every  Christ- 
mas, a  generous  dinner  to  some  poor  family  in  the 
town,  and  this  year  the  children  had  decided  on  the 
Simpsons.  In  addition  to  the  dinner,  they  always 
made  up  a  box  of  toys,  clothing,  and  gifts  of  all 
sorts.  These  were  not  always  entirely  new,  but 
were  none  the  less  welcome  for  that. 

"  A  large  family,  isn't  it?  "  said  Mr.  Maynard. 

"  Loads  of  'em,"  said  King.  "  All  ages  and  as- 
sorted sizes." 


10  MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

"  Well,  I'll  give  shoes  and  mittens  all  round, 
for  ray  share.  Mother,  you  must  look  out  for  the 
dinner  and  any  necessities  that  they  need.  Chil- 
dren, you  can  make  toys  and  candies  for  them, 
can't  you?  " 

"  Yes,  indeed,"  said  Marjorie ;  "  we've  lovely 
things  planned.  We're  going  to  paste  pictures 
on  wood,  and  King  is  going  to  saw  them  up  into 
picture-puzzles.  And  we're  going  to  make  scrap 
books,  and  dress  dolls,  and  heaps  of  things." 

"  And  when  are  you  going  to  take  these  things 
to  them?" 

"  I  think  we'd  better  take  them  the  day  before 
Christmas,"  said  Mrs.  Maynard.  "  Then  Mrs. 
Simpson  can  prepare  her  turkey  and  such  things 
over  night  if  she  wants  to.  I'm  sure  she'd  like 
it  better  than  to  have  all  the  things  come  upon  her 
suddenly  on  Christmas  morning." 

"  Yes,  that's  true,"  said  Mr.  Maynard.  "  And 
then  we  must  find  something  to  amuse  ourselves  all 
day  Christmas." 

"  I  rather  guess  we  can !  "  said  King.  "  We'll 
have  our  own  tree  Christmas  morning,  and  Grand- 
ma and  Uncle  Steve  are  coming,  and  if  there's 
snow,  we'll  have  a  sleigh-ride,  and  if  there's  ice, 
we'll  have  skating, — oh,  I  just  love  Christmas ! " 


A  BOTHERSOME  BAG  II 

"  So  do  I,"  said  Marjorie.  "  And  we'll  have 
greens  all  over  the  house,  and  wreaths  tied  with  red 
ribbon, " 

"  And  mince  pie  and  ice  creair,  both ! "  inter- 
rupted Kitty ;  "  oh,  won't  it  be  gorgeous !  " 

"  And  then  no  school  for  a  whole  week ! "  said 
Marjorie,  rapturously.  "  More  than  a  week,  for 
Christmas  is  on  Thursday,  so  New  Year's  Day's  on 
Thursday,  too,  and  we  have  vacation  on  that  Fri- 
day, too." 

"  But  Christmas  and  New  Year's  Day  don't 
come  on  the  same  day  of  the  week  this  year,  Mar- 
jorie," said  her  father. 

"  They  don't !  Why,  Father,  they  always  do ! 
It  isn't  leap  year,  is  it?  " 

"  Ho,  Mops,  leap  year  doesn't  matter,"  cried 
King.  "  Of  course,  they  always  come  on  the  same 
day  of  the  week.  What  do  you  mean,  Father?  " 

"  I  mean  just  what  I  say^  that  Christmas  Day 
and  New  Year's  Day  do  not  fall  on  the  same  day 
of  the  week  this  year." 

"  Why,  Daddy,  you're  crazy ! "  said  Marjorie, 
"  Isn't  Christmas  coming  on  Thursday  ?  " 

"  Yes,  my  child." 

"  Well,  isn't  New  Year's  Day  the  following 
Thursday?" 


12  MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

"  Yes,  but  that's  next  year.  New  Year's  Day 
of  this  year  was  nearly  twelve  months  ago  and  was 
on  Wednesday." 

"  Oh,  Father,  what  a  sell !  of  course  I  meant 
this  winter" 

"  Well,  you  didn't  say  so.    You  said  this  year." 

"  It's  a  good  joke,"  said  King,  thinking  it  over. 
"  I'll  fool  the  boys  with  it,  at  school." 

The  Maynards  were  a  busy  crowd  during  the 
short  week  that  intervened  before  Christmas. 

From  Mr.  Maynard,  who  was  superintending 
plans  for  his  own  family  and  for  many  benefi- 
ciaries, down  to  the  cook,  who  was  making  whole 
shelves  full  of  marvelous  dainties,  everybody  was 
hurrying  and  skurrying  from  morning  till  night. 

The  children  had  completed  their  gifts  for  their 
parents  and  for  each  other,  and  most  of  them  were 
already  tied  in  dainty  tissue  papers  and  holly  rib- 
bons awaiting  the  festal  day. 

Now  they  were  making  gifts  for  the  poor  fam- 
ily of  Simpsons,  and  they  seemed  to  enjoy  it  quite 
as  much  as  when  making  the  more  costly  presents 
for  each  other. 

Marjorie  came  home  from  school  at  one  o'clock, 
and  as  Mrs.  Maynard  had  said  she  needn't  practise 
her  music  any  more  until  after  the  holidays,  she  had 


A  BOTHERSOME  BAG  13 

all  her  afternoons  and  the  early  part  of  the  even- 
ings to  work  at  the  Christmas  things. 

She  was  especially  clever  with  scissors  and  paste, 
and  made  lovely  scrap-books  by  cutting  large  dou- 
ble leaves  of  heavy  brown  paper.  On  these  she 
pasted  post-cards  or  other  colored  pictures,  also 
little  verses  or  stories  cut  from  the  papers.  Eight 
of  these  sheets  were  tied  together  by  a  bright  rib- 
bon at  the  back,  and  made  a  scrap-book  acceptable 
to  any  child.  Then,  Marjorie  loved  to  dress  paper 
dolls.  She  bought  a  dozen  of  the  pretty  ones  that 
have  movable  arms  and  feet,  and  dressed  them  most 
picturesquely  in  crinkled  paper  and  lace  paper. 
She  made  little  hats,  cloaks  and  muffs  for  them, 
and  the  dainty  array  was  a  fine  addition  to  the 
Simpson's  box. 

Kitty,  too,  made  worsted  balls  for  the  Simpson 
babies,  and  little  lace  stockings,  worked  around 
with  worsted,  which  were  to  be  filled  with  candies. 

With  Mrs.  Maynard's  help,  they  dressed  a  doll 
for  each  Simpson  girl,  and  King  sawed  out  a  pic- 
ture puzzle  for  each  Simpson  boy. 

Then,  a  few  days  before  Christmas  they  all  went 
to  work  and  made  candies.  They  loved  to  do  this, 
and  Mrs.  Maynard  thought  home-made  confec- 
tionery more  wholesome  than  the  bought  kind.  So 


14  MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

they  spent  one  afternoon,  picking  out  nuts  and 
seeding  raisins,  and  making  all  possible  beforehand 
preparations,  and  the  next  day  they  made  the 
candy.  As  they  wanted  enough  for  their  own  fam- 
ily as  well  as  the  Simpsons,  the  quantity,  when 
finished,  was  rather  appalling. 

Pan  after  pan  of  cream  chocolates,  cocoanut 
balls,  caramels,  cream  dates,  cream  nuts,  and  choc- 
olate-dipped dainties  of  many  sorts  filled  the 
shelves  in  the  cold  pantry. 

And  Marjorie  also  made  some  old-fashioned 
molasses  candy  with  peanuts  in  it,  because  it  was 
a  favorite  with  Uncle  Steve. 

The  day  before  Christmas  the  children  were  all 
allowed  to  stay  home  from  school,  for  in  the  morn- 
ing they  were  to  pack  the  Christmas  box  for  the 
Simpsons  and,  in  the  afternoon,  take  it  to  them 


CHAPTER  II 

A  WELCOME    CHRISTMAS   GIFT 

THE  day  before  Christmas  was  a  busy  one  in  the 
Maynard  household. 

The  delightful  breakfast  that  Ellen  sent  to  the 
table  could  scarcely  be  eaten,  so  busily  talking  were 
all  the  members  of  the  family. 

"  Come  home  early,  won't  you,  Father  ?  "  said 
Marjorie,  as  Mr.  Maynard  rose  to  go  away  to  his 
business.  "  And  don't  forget  to  bring  me  that  big 
holly-box  I  told  you  about." 

*'  As  I've  only  thirty-seven  other  things  to  re- 
member, I  won't  forget  that,  chickadee.  Any  last 
orders,  Helen  ?  " 

"  No ;  only  those  I've  already  told  you.  Come 
home  as  early  as  you  can,  for  there's  lots  to  be 
done,  and  you  know  Steve  and  Grandma  will  arrive 
at  six." 

Away  went  Mr.  Maynard,  and  then  the  children 
scattered  to  attend  to  their  various  duties. 

Both  James  the  gardener  and  Thomas  the  coach- 
15 


16  MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

man  were  handy  men  of  all  work,  and,  superintended 
by  Mrs..  Maynard,  they  packed  the  more  substan- 
tial portions  of  the  Simpson's  Christmas  donations. 

It  took  several  large  baskets  to  hold  the  dinner, 
for  there  was  a  big,  fat  turkey,  a  huge  roast  of 
beef,  and  also  sausages  and  vegetables  of  many 
sorts. 

Then  other  baskets  held  bread  and  pie  and  cake, 
and  cranberry  jelly  and  celery,  and  all  the  good 
things  that  go  to  make  up  a  Christmassy  sort  of  a 
feast.  Another  basket  held  nuts  and  raisins  and 
oranges  and  figs,  and  in  this  was  a  big  box  of  the 
candies  the  children  had  made.  The  baskets  were 
all  decked  with  evergreen  and  holly,  and  made  an 
imposing  looking  row. 

Meantime  King  and  Midget  and  Kitty  were 
packing  into  boxes  the  toys  and  pretty  trifles  that 
they  had  made  or  bought.  They  added  many  books 
and  games  of  their  own,  which,  though  not  quite 
new,  were  as  good  as  new. 

A  barrel  was  packed  full  of  clothing,  mostly  out- 
grown by  the  Maynard  children,  but  containing, 
also,  new  warm  caps,  wraps  and  underwear  for 
the  little  Simpsons. 

Well,  all  the  things  together  made  a  fair  wagon- 
load,  and  when  Mr.  Maynard  returned  home  about 


two  o'clock  that  afternoon,  he  saw  the  well-filled 
and  evergreen  trimmed  wagon  on  the  drive,  only 
waiting  for  his  coming  to  have  the  horse  put  to 
its  shafts. 

"  Hello,  Maynard  maids  and  men !  "  he  cried,  as 
he  came  in,  laden  with  bundles,  and  found  the  chil- 
dren bustling  about,  getting  ready  to  go. 

"  Oh,  Father,"  exclaimed  Kitty,  "  you  do  look 
so  Santa  Claus-y  !  What's  in  all  those  packages?  " 

"  Mostly  surprises  for  you  to-morrow,  Miss 
Curiosity ;  so  you  can  scarcely  expect  to  see  in  them 
now." 

"  I  do  love  a  bundly  Christmas,"  said  Marjorie. 
"  I  think  half  the  fun  is  tying  things  up  with  holly 
ribbons,  and  sticking  sprigs  of  holly  in  the  knots." 

"  Well,  are  we  all  aboard  now  for  the  Simp- 
sons? "  asked  her  father,  as  he  deposited  his  bur- 
dens in  safe  places. 

"  Yes,  we'll  get  our  hats,  and  start  at  once ; 
come  on,  Kitty,"  and  Marjorie  danced  away,  draw- 
ing her  slower  sister  along  with  her. 

Nurse  Nannie  soon  had  little  Rosamond  ready, 
and  the  tot  looked  like  a  big  snowball  in  her  fleecy 
white  coat  and  hood,  and  white  leggings. 

"  Me  go  to  Simpson's,"  she  cried,  in  great  ex- 
citement, and  then  Mrs.  Maynard  appeared,  and 


18  MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

they  all  crowded  into  the  roomy  station-wagon 
that  could  be  made,  at  a  pinch,  to  hold  them  all. 
James  drove  them,  and  Thomas  followed  with  the 
wagon-load  of  gifts. 

The  visit  was  a  total  surprise  to  the  Simpson 
family,  and  when  the  Maynards  knocked  vigor- 
ously at  the  shaky  old  door,  half  a  dozen  little 
faces  looked  wonderingly  from  the  windows. 

"What  is  it?"  said  Mrs.  Simpson,  coming  to 
the  door,  with  a  baby  in  her  arms,  and  other  small 
children  clinging  to  her  dress. 

"  Merry  Christmas !  "  cried  Midget  and  King, 
who  were  ahead  of  the  others.  But  the  cry  of 
"  Merry  Christmas  "  was  repeated  by  all  the  May- 
nards, until  an  answering  smile  appeared  on  the 
faces  of  the  Simpson  family  and  most  of  them 
spoke  up  with  a  "  Merry  Christmas  to  you,  too." 

"  We've  brought  you  some  Christmas  cheer," 
said  Mr.  Maynard,  as  the  whole  six  of  them  went 
in,  thereby  greatly  crowding  the  small  room  where 
they  were  received.  "  Mr.  Simpson  is  not  well, 
yet,  I  understand." 

"  No,  sir,"  said  Mrs.  Simpson.  "  They  do  say 
he'll  be  in  the  hospital  for  a  month  yet,  and  it's 
all  I  can  do  to  keep  the  youngsters  alive,  let  alone 
gettin'  Christmas  fixin's  for  'em." 


A  WELCOME  CHRISTMAS  GIFT      19 

"  That's  what  we  thought,"  said  Mr.  Maynard, 
pleasantly ;  "  and  so  my  wife  and  children  are 
bringing  you  some  goodies  to  make  a  real  Christ- 
mas feast  for  your  little  ones." 

"  Lord  bless  you,  sir,"  said  Mrs.  Simpson,  as  the 
tears  came  to  her  eyes.  "  I  didn't  know  how  much 
I  was  missin'  all  the  Christmas  feelin',  till  I  see 
you  all  come  along,  with  your  *  Merry  Christmas,' 
and  your  evergreen  trimmin's." 

"  Yes,"  said  Mrs.  Maynard,  gently,  "  at  this 
season,  we  should  all  have  the  *  Christmas  feeling,' 
and  though  I'm  sorry  your  husband  can't  be  with 
you,  I  hope  you  and  the  children  will  have  a  happy 
day." 

"What  you  got  for  us?"  whispered  a  little 
Simpson,  who  was  patting  Mrs.  Maynard's  muff. 

"  Well,  we'll  soon  show  you."  said  Mr.  Maynard, 
overhearing  the  child. 

Then  he  opened  the  door  and  bade  his  two  men 
bring  in  the  things. 

So  James  and  Thomas  brought  them  in,  box 
after  box  and  basket  after  basket,  until  the  Simp- 
sons were  well-nigh  speechless  at  the  sight. 

"  How  kin  we  pay  for  it,  Ma  ?  "  said  one  of  the 
boys,  who  was  getting  old  enough  to  know  what 
lack  of  funds  meant. 


20  MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

"  You're  not  to  pay  for  it,  my  boy,"  said  Mr. 
Maynard,  "  except  by  having  a  jolly,  happy  day 
to-morrow,  and  enjoying  all  the  good  things  you 
find  in  these  baskets."  Then  the  Maynard  chil- 
dren  unwrapped  some  of  the  pretty  things  they 
had  made,  and  gave  them  to  the  little  Simpsons. 

One  little  girl  of  about  six  received  a  doll  with 
a  cry  of  rapture,  and  held  it  close  to  her,  as  if 
she  had  never  had  a  doll  before.  Then  suddenly 
she  said,  "  No,  I'll  give  it  to  sister,  she  never 
had  a  doll.  I  did  have  one  once,  but  a  bad  boy 
stole  it." 

"  You're  an  unselfish  little  dear,"  cried  Mar- 
jorie;  "  and  here's  another  doll  for  you.  There's 
one  for  each  of  you  girls." 

As  there  were  four  girls,  this  caused  four  out- 
bursts of  joy,  and  when  Marjorie  and  Kitty  saw 
the  way  the  little  girls  loved  the  dollies,  they  felt 
more  than  repaid  for  the  trouble  it  had  been  to 
dress  them.  The  boys,  too,  were  delighted  with 
their  gifts.  Mr.  Maynard  had  brought  real  boys' 
toys  for  them,  such  as  small  tool  chests,  and 
mechanical  contrivances,  not  to  mention  trumpets 
and  drums.  And,  indeed,  the  last-named  ones 
needed  no  mention,  for  they  were  at  once  put  to 
use  and  spoke  for  themselves. 


A  WELCOME  CHRISTMAS  GIFT      21 

"  Land  sakes,  children !  stop  that  hullabaloo- 
lam  ! "  exclaimed  Mrs.  Simpson.  "  How  can  I 
thank  these  kind  people  if  you  keep  up  that  noise ! 
Indeed,  I  can't  thank  you,  anyway,"  she  added,  as 
the  drums  were  quiet  for  a  moment.  "  It's  so  kind 
of  you, — and  so  unexpected.  We  had  almost 
nothing  for, — for  to-morrow's  dinner,  and  I  didn't 
know  which  way  to  turn." 

Overcome  by  her  emotion,  Mrs.  Simpson  buried 
her  face  in  her  apron,  but  as  Mrs.  Maynard 
touched  her  shoulder  and  spoke  to  her  gently,  she 
looked  up,  smiling  through  her  tears. 

"  I  can't  rightly  thank  you,  ma'am,"  she  went 
on,  "  but  the  Lord  will  bless  you  for  your  good- 
ness. I'm  to  see  Mr.  Simpson  for  a  few  momenta 
to-morrow,  and  when  I  tell  him  what  you've  done 
for  us  he'll  have  the  happiest  Christmas  of  us  all, 
though  his  sufferings  is  awful.  But  he  was  heart- 
sick because  of  our  poor  Christmas  here  at  home, 
and  the  news  will  cure  him  of  that,  anyway." 

"  I  put  in  some  jelly  and  grapes  especially  for 
him,"  said  Mrs.  Maynard,  smiling,  though  there 
Were  tears  in  her  own  eyes.  "  So  you  take  them  to 
him,  and  give  him  Christmas  greetings  from  us. 
And  now  we  must  go,  and  you  can  begin  at  once  to 
make  ready  your  feast." 


82  MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

"  Oh,  yes,  ma'am.  And  may  all  Christmas 
blessing's  light  on  you  and  yours." 

"  Merry  Christmas ! "  cried  all  the  Maynards  as 
they  trooped  out,  and  the  good  wish  was  echoed 
by  the  happy  Simpsons. 

"  My !  "  said  King,  "  it  makes  a  fellow  feel  sober 
to  see  people  as  poor  as  that !  " 

"  It  does,  my  boy,"  said  his  father ;  "  and  it's  a 
pleasure  to  help  those  who  are  truly  worthy  and 
deserving.  Simpson  is  an  honest,  hard-working 
man,  and  I  think  we  must  keep  an  eye  on  the 
family  until  he's  about  again.  And  now,  my 
hearties,  we've  done  all  we  can  for  them  for  the 
present;  so  let's  turn  our  attention  to  the  celebra- 
tion of  the  Maynard's  Christmastide.  Who  wants 
to  go  to  the  station  with  me  to  meet  Grandma  and 
Uncle  Steve?  " 

"  I ! "  declared  the  four  children,  as  with  one 
voice. 

"  Yes,  but  you  can't  all  go ;  and,  too,  there  must 
be  some  of  the  nicest  ones  at  home  to  greet  the 
travellers  as  they  enter.  I  think  I'll  decide  the 
question  myself.  I'll  take  Kitty  and  King  with 
me,  and  I'll  leave  my  eldest  and  youngest  daugh- 
ters at  home  with  Motherdy  to  receive  the  gue.*tt 
when  they  come." 


A  WELCOME  CHRISTMAS  GIFT      23 

Mr.  Maynard's  word  was  always  law,  &ii|f 
though  Marjorie  wanted  to  go,  she  thought,  too,  it 
would  be  fun  to  be  at  home  and  receive  them  when 
they  come. 

So  they  all  separated  as  agreed,  and  Mrs.  May- 
nard  said  they  must  make  haste  to  get  dressed  for 
the  company. 

Marjorie  wore  a  light  green  cashmere,  with  a 
white  embroidered  guimpe,  which  was  one  of  her 
favorite  frocks.  Her  hair  was  tied  with  big  white 
bows,  and  a  sprig  of  holly  was  tucked  in  at  one 
side. 

She  flew  down  to  the  living-room,  to  find  baby 
Rosamond  and  her  mother  already  there.  Rosy 
Posy  was  a  Christmas  baby  indeed,  all  in  white, 
Vvith  holly  ribbons  tying  up  her  curls,  and  a  holly 
sprig  tied  in  the  bow.  The  whole  house  was 
decorated  with  ropes  and  loops  of  evergreen,  and 
stars  and  wreaths,  with  big  red  bows  on  them,  were 
in  the  windows  and  over  the  doorways. 

The  delicious  fragrance  of  the  evergreens  per- 
vaded^ the  house,  and  the  wood  fires  burned  cheerily. 
Mrs.  Maynard,  in  her  pretty  rose-colored  house 
gown,  looked  about  with  the  satisfied  feeling  that 
everything  was  in  readiness,  and  nothing  had  been 
forgotten. 


24  MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

At  last  a  commotion  was  heard  at  the  door,  and 
Marjorie  flew  to  open  it.  They  all  seemed  to 
come  in  at  once,  and  after  an  embrace  from 
Grandma,  Marjorie  felt  herself  lifted  up  in  Uncle 
Steve's  strong  arms. 

"  That's  the  last  time,  Midget,"  he  said  as  he  set 
her  down  again.  "  There's  too  much  of  you  for 
me  to  toss  about  as  I  used  to.  My!  what  a  big 
girl  you  are !  " 

"  Toss  me,  Uncle  Teve,"  said  Rosy  Posy,  and 
she  was  immediately  swung  to  Uncle  Steve's  shoul- 
der. 

"  You're  only  a  bit  of  thistle-down.  I  could 
toss  you  up  in  the  sky,  and  you  could  sit 
on  the  edge  of  a  star.  How  would  you  like 
that?  " 

"  I'd  rawer  stay  here,"  said  Rosy  Posy,  nes- 
tling contentedly  on  her  perch.  "  'Sides,  I  must 
be  here  for  Kismus  to-morrow." 

"  Oh,  is  Christmas  to-morrow?  How  could  I 
have  forgotten  that?  " 

"  You  didn't  forget  it,  Uncle  Steve,"  said  Kitty, 
"  for  I  see  bundles  sticking  out  of  every  one  of 
your  pockets ! " 

"  Bless  my  soul !  How  odd !  Santa  Claus  must 
have  tucked  them  in,  as  I  came  through  his  street. 


A  WELCOME  CHRISTMAS  GIFT      V5 

Well,  I'll  put  them  away  until  to-morrow. 
They're  of  no  use  to-night." 

"  Put  them  in  here,  Steve,"  said  Mrs.  May- 
nard,  opening  a  cupboard  door,  for  there  was  a 
possibility  that  the  good-natured  gentleman  might 
oe  persuaded  to  unwrap  them  at  once. 

Meantime  Grandma  was  reviewing  the  small 
Maynards.  Marjorie  she  had  seen  in  the  summer, 
but  the  others  had  been  absent  a  longer  time. 

"  You've  all  grown,"  she  said,  "  but  I  do  believe 
I  like  you  just  as  well  bigger." 

"  Good  for  you,  Grandma ! "  cried  King. 
"  'Most  everybody  says,  '  Why,  how  you've 
grown ! '  as  if  we  had  done  something  wrong." 

^  No,  the  more  there  is  of  my  grandchildren, 
the  more  I  have  to  love,  so  go  right  on  growing. 
Marjorie,  Molly  and  Stella  sent  love  to  you,  and 
they  also  sent  some  little  gifts  which  I  will  give 
you  to-morrow." 

The  Maynards  did  not  follow  the  custom  of 
having  their  tree  on  Christmas  eve. 

Mrs.  Maynard  thought  it  unwise,  because  the 
children  often  became  so  excited  over  their  gifts 
and  their  frolic  that  it  was  difficult  for  them  to 
settle  down  to  sleep  until  "  all  hours." 

So  it  was  the  rule  to  go  to  bed  rather  early  OB 


Christmas  eve,  and  have  a  long  happy  day  to 
follow. 

But  the  dinner,  on  the  night  before  Christmas, 
always  assumed  a  little  of  the  coming  festivities. 
On  this  occasion,  the  table  was  decked  with  holly 
and  flowers,  and  the  dishes  were  a  little  more 
elaborate  and  festive  than  usual. 

"  Ice  cream,  oh,  goody ! "  exclaimed  Kitty,  as 
dessert  appeared.  Kitty's  fondness  for  ice  cream 
was  a  family  joke,  but  all  welcomed  the  little  Santa 
Clauses  made  of  orange  ice,  and  carrying  trees  of 
pistache  cream.  After  dinner  a  game  of  romps 
was  allowed. 

Mrs.  Maynard,  Grandma  and  Baby  Rosy  did 
not  join  in  this,  but  went  off  by  themselves, 
leaving  the  living-room  to  the  more  enthusiastic 
rompers. 

"  Fox  and  Geese "  was  a  favorite  game,  and 
though  there  were  scarcely  enough  of  them  to  play 
it  properly,  yet  that  made  it  all  the  more  fun,  and 
Uncle  Steve  and  Mr.  Maynard  seemed  to  be  little, 
if  any,  older  than  Kingdon,  as  they  scrambled 
about  in  the  frolic.  Then  Kitty  begged  for  just 
one  round  of  Puss  in  the  Corner. 

Kingdon  and  Midget  thought  this  rather  a 
baby  game,  but  they  willingly  deferred  to  Kitty's* 


A  WELCOME  CHRISTMAS  GIFT      £7 

jrfoice,  and  the  grown  up  men  were  such  foolish, 
funny  pussies  in  their  corners  that  everybody  fell 
a-laughing,  and  the  game  broke  up  because  they 
were  too  exhausted  to  play  any  more. 

"  Now  to  quiet  down  pleasantly,  and  then  ho, 
for  bed,"  said  Mr.  Maynard.  So  when  they 
had  recovered  their  breath,  Mrs.  Maynard  and 
Grandma  returned,  Rosy  Posy  having  already 
gone  to  her  little  crib.  Mrs.  Maynard  sat  at  the 
piano,  and  they  all  gathered  round  and  sang 
Christmas  carols. 

The  children  had  clear,  true  voices,  and  the 
grown-ups  sang  really  well,  so  it  was  sweet  Christ- 
mas music  that  they  made.  They  sang  many  of 
the  old  English  carols,  for  the  children  had  sung 
them  every  Christmas  eve  since  they  were  old 
enough,  and  they  knew  them  well. 

Grandma  loved  to  hear  the  music,  and  after  it 
was  over  the  three  children  were  kindly  but  firmly 
requested  to  retire. 

"  We  hate  awfully  to  have  you  go,  dear  friends," 
said  Mr.  Maynard.  '*  We  shall  be  desolate,  in- 
deed, without  your  merry  faces,  but  the  time  is 
ripe.  It's  nine  o'clock,  and  Christmas  morning 
comes  apace.  So  flee,  skip,  skiddoo,  vamoose,  and 
exit!  Hang  up  your  stockings,  and  perhaps 


28  MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

Santa  Claus  may  observe  them.  But  hasten,  for  I 
daresay  he's  already  on  his  rounds." 

Laughing  at  their  father's  nonsense,  the  children 
rather  reluctantly  backed  out  of  the  room  and 
dawdled  upstairs. 

But  there  was  still  the  fun  of  hanging  up  their 
stockings,  and  then,  after  that  nothing  more  but 
to  hurry  to  get  to  sleep  that  Christmas  might 
come  sooner. 

Rosy  Posy's  tiny  socks  were  already  in  place, 
and  soon  three  more  pairs  of  long,  lank  stockings 
were  dangling  emptily,  and  then,  in  a  jiffy  the 
Maynard  children  were  all  asleep,  and  Christmas 
Day  was  silently  drawing  nearer  and  nearer* 


CHAPTER  III 

MERRY  CHRISTMAS! 

THE  sun  waited  just  about  as  long  as  he  could 
stand  it  on  Christmas  morning,  and  then  he  poked 
his  yellow  nose  above  the  horizon  to  see  what  waa 
going  on.  And  everything  that  he  saw  was  so 
merry  and  gay  and  full  of  Christmas  spirit,  that 
he  pushed  the  rest  of  himself  up,  and  beamed 
around  in  a  glad  smile  of  welcome  and  greeting. 
As  he  gave  a  flashing  glance  in  at  the  Maynard 
girls' "window,  his  rays  struck  Marjorie  full  in  the 
face  and  wakened  her  at  once.  For  a  moment  she 
blinked  and  winked  and  wondered  what  day  it  was. 
Then  she  remembered,  and  with  one  bound  she  was 
out  of  bed,  and  across  the  room  to  where  Kitty  was 
soundly  sleeping. 

It  was  a  rule  for  the  Maynard  children  never  to 
waken  one  another,  for  Mrs.  Maynard  believed 
that  people,  both  young  and  old,  need  all  the  sleep 
they  can  take,  but  Christmas  morning  was,  of 
course,  an  exception,  and  patting  Kitty  rather 

29 


SO  MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

vigorously  on  her  shoulder,  Marjorie  called  out, 
"  Merry  Christmas !  " 

"  Who  ?  "  said  Kitty,  drowsily,  rubbing  her  eyes, 
as  she  sat  up.  **  Oh,  Mops !  you  caught  me ! 
Merry  Christmas,  yourself!  Let's  go  and  catch 
King!" 

Throwing  on  their  dressing-gowns,  and  tucking 
their  feet  into  bedroom  slippers,  they  ran  to  their 
brother's  room,  but  King,  also  huddled  into  a 
bath-robe,  met  them  in  the  hall,  and  the  gay  greet- 
ings and  laughter  soon  woke  any  one  else  in  the 
house  who  might  have  been  asleep.  Nurse  Nannie, 
with  Rosy  Posy,  joined  the  group,  and  each  clasp- 
ing a  pair  of  bulging,  knobby  stockings,  flew  to 
the  nursery,  where  this  Christmas  morning  cere- 
monial always  took  place. 

A  bright  fire  was  blazing  in  the  big  fireplace, 
and  in  front  of  it,  on  a  white  fur  rug,  the  four 
sat  down,  while  Nannie  hovered  around,  ready  to 
inspect  and  admire,  as  she  knew  she  would  be  called 
upon  to  do. 

The  big,  light  nursery  was  a  delightful  room, 
and  with  the  morning  sunshine,  the  shining  yellow; 
floor,  white-painted  woodwork,  and  bright  fire- 
brasses,  it  seemed  full  of  Christmas  glow  and 
warmth. 


MERRY  CHRISTMAS!  31 

Grouped  on  the  rug,  the  children  immediately 
proceeded  to  the  business  of  emptying  their  stock- 
ings, and  as  the  various  things  were  pulled  out 
and  exhibited,  everybody  oh'd  and  ah'd  at  every- 
body else,  and  they  all  began  to  nibble  at  candies, 
and  at  last  Christmas  had  really  begun. 

The  gifts  in  their  stockings  were  always  of  a 
pretty,  but  trifling  nature,  as  their  more  worth 
while  presents  were  received  later,  from  the  tree. 

But  there  were  always  lots  of  little  toys  and 
trinkets,  and  always  oranges  and  nuts  and  candies, 
and  always  tin  whistles  and  rattles,  and  other 
noise-producing  contraptions,  so  that  soon  the 
four  grew  gay  and  noisy  and  Nurse  was  obliged 
to  pick  up  Baby  Rosamond,  lest  she  should  be  in- 
advertently upset. 

But  perched  in  Nurse's  lap,  the  little  one  waved 
a  Christmas  flag,  and  blew  on  a  tiny  tin  trumpet, 
and  quite  made  her  share  of  the  general  hullaballoo. 
Marjorie  had  a  new  pencil-case,  and  some  pretty 
handkerchiefs,  and  an  inkstand,  and  a  silver 
bangle,  and  a  little  diary,  and  some  lovely  hair- 
ribbons. 

And  King  was  rejoicing  over  a  fountain  pen,  a 
pocket-knife,  a  silk  muffler,  a  rubber-stamp  outfit, 
and  some  new  gloves. 


82  MARJORIE'S  NEW  .FRIEND 

Kitty  had  a  little  pocket-book,  a  silver  shoe- 
buttoner,  a  blank-book,  a  pretty  silk  pincushion, 
and  a  bangle  like  Marjorie's. 

Baby  Rosy  had  dolls  and  toys,  and  what  with 
the  candies  and  other  goodies,  there  was  a  distract- 
ing array  of  Christmas  all  about. 

"  And  to  think  the  day  has  scarcely  begun ! " 
said  Marjorie,  with  a  sigh  of  rapture,  as  she  ate 
a  cream  date,  at  the  same  time  twisting  her  wrist 
to  catch  the  glitter  of  her  new  bangle. 

"  Yes,  but  it's  'most  half -past  eight,"  said 
King,  "  and  breakfast's  at  nine.  I'm  going  to 
skittle !  " 

He  gathered  up  his  new  belongings,  and  with  a 
sort  of  combination  war-whoop  and  "  Merry 
Christmas,"  he  scampered  away  to  his  room.  The 
two  girls  followed  his  example,  and  soon  were 
busily  dressing  themselves  and  helping  each 
other. 

Marjorie  put  on  a  scarlet  cashmere,  which,  with 
the  big  red  bows  on  her  hair,  made  her  look  very 
Christmassy,  the  effect  being  added  to  by  holly 
sprigs  pinned  on  here  and  there.  Kitty's  frock 
was  a  sort  of  electric  blue,  that  suited  her  fair  hair, 
and  she,  too,  was  holly-decked. 

Then,  after  a  hasty  inspection  of  each  other,  to 

i 


MERRY  CHRISTMAS!  83 

fee  that  they  were  all  right,  the  girls  skipped  down- 
itairs. 

So  expeditious  had  they  been  that  not  a  May- 
nard  was  ahead  of  them,  except  their  father,  who 
had  just  come  down. 

"  Merry  Christmas,  girlies !  "  he  cried,  and  just 
then  everybody  came  down,  almost  all  at  once,  and 
the  greetings  flew  about,  as  thick  as  a  snowstorm. 
Grandma  Sherwood,  in  her  soft  grey  breakfast- 
gown,  beamed  happily  at  her  brood  of  grand- 
children, and  soon  they  all  gathered  round  the 
Uble. 

"  I  wish  Christmas  was  seventy-two  hours  long," 
said  Marjorie,  whose  candies  had  not  taken  away 
her  appetite  for  the  specially  fine  breakfast  that 
was  being  served  in  honor  of  the  day. 

"  But  you'd  fall  asleep  after  twelve  hours  of  it," 
asid  Uncle  Steve ;  "  so  what  good  would  it  do 
you?" 

"  I  wouldn't !  "  declared  King.  "  I  could  spend 
twelve  hours  having  our  regular  Christmas  in  the 
house;  and  then  twelve  more  outdoors,  skating  or 
something ;  and  then  twelve  more " 

"  Eating,"  suggested  his  father,  glancing  at 
King's  plate.  "  Well,  since  we  can't  have  seventy- 
two  hours  of  it,  we  must  cram  all  the  fun  we  can 


34  MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

into  twelve.  Who's  for  a  run  out  of  doors  before 
we  have  our  Christmas  tree  ?  "  The  three  older 
children  agreed  to  this,  and  with  Mr.  Maynard  and 
Uncle  Steve  they  went  out  for  a  brisk  walk. 

"  Wish  we  could  snowball,"  said  King,  as  they 
returned,  and  stood  for  a  few  moments  on  the  ver- 
andah. "  It's  cold  enough,  but  there  no  sign  of 
snow.** 

"  Pooh,  you  don't  have  to  have  snow  to  play  a 
game  of  snowballs ! "  said  his  father.  "  Why 
didn't  you  say  what  you  wanted  sooner?  You 
are  such  a  diffident  boy !  Wait  a  minute." 

Mr.  Maynard  disappeared  into  the  house,  and 
returned  with  a  large  paper  bag  filled  with  some- 
thing, they  did  not  know  what. 

"  Come  out  on  the  lawn,"  he  said,  and  soon  they 
were  all  out  on  the  brown,  dry,  winter  grass. 

"  Catch ! "  and  then  Mr.  Maynard  threw  to 
one  and  another,  some  swift,  white  balls.  They 
were  really  white  pop-corn  balls,  but  at  first  they 
looked  like  snowballs. 

The  children  caught  on  at  once,  and  soon  two 
or  three  dozen  balls  were  whizzing  from  each  to 
each,  and  they  had  the  j oiliest  game!  The  balls 
were  too  light  to  hurt  if  they  hit  them,  yet  solid 
enough  to  throw  wefl. 


MERRY  CHRISTMAS!  35 

To  be  sure,  they  broke  to  bits  after  many 
tosses,  but  the  game  lasted  a  half  hour,  and 
then  Mr.  Maynard  declared  that  it  was  tree 
time. 

"  Sounds  like  tea-time,"  said  Kitty,  as  they 
trooped  in. 

"  Sounds  a  whole  lot  better  than  that ! "  said 
King. 

The  tree  was  in  the  living-room.  It  had  been 
brought  in,  and  trimmed  after  the  children  went 
to  bed  the  night  before.  So  they  had  had  no 
glimpse  of  it,  and  were  now  more  than  eager  to  see 
its  glories. 

"  Are  we  all  here  ?  "  asked  Mr.  Maynard,  as 
he  looked  over  the  group  in  the  hall,  awaiting  the 
opening  of  the  doors. 

"  All  but  Uncle  Steve,"  said  Marjorie.  "  Why 
doesn't  he  come?  " 

"  We  won't  wait  for  him,"  said  Mr.  Maynard, 
and  he  gave  a  loud  knock  on  the  double  doors 
of  the  living-room. 

Like  magic  the  doors  flew  open,  and  waiting 
to  receive  them  was  Santa  Claus  himself! 

His  jolly,  smiling  face  was  very  red-cheeked,  and 
his  white  hair  and  beard  streamed  down  over  his 
ted  coat,  which  was  of  that  belted  round-about 


46  MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

shape  that  seems  to  be  Santa  Claus's  favoriU 
fashion. 

His  red  coat  and  trousers  were  trimmed  with 
white  fur  and  gold  braid,  and  his  high  boots 
were  covered  with  splashes  of  white  that  looked 
like  snow.  He  wore  a  fur  trimmed  red  cap,  and 
big  gold-rimmed  spectacles.  The  latter,  with  the 
very  red  cheeks  and  long  white  beard,  so  changed 
Uncle  Steve's  appearance  that  at  first  no  one, 
seemed  to  recognize  him. 

But  they  knew  in  a  moment,  and  Marjorift 
grasped  one  hand  and  Kitty  the  other,  as  they 
cried  out: 

"  Hello,  Uncle  Santa  Claus !  how  did  you  gel 
so  snowy?  " 

"  I  came  down  from  the  arctic  regions,  my 
dears,"  said  the  smiling  saint,  "  and  up  there  wa 
have  perpetual  snow." 

"  It  seems  to  be  perpetual  on  your  boots,"  ob-« 
served  King ;  "  I'm  sure  it  won't  melt  x  off  at 
aD!" 

"  Yes,  it's  first-class  snow,"  agreed  Santa  Claus, 
looking  at  his  boots,  which  were  really  splashed 
with  white-wash.  "  And  here's  Tittle  Miss  Rosy 
Posy,"  he  continued,  picking  up  the  baby,  who, 
at  first,  was  a  little  shy  of  the  strange-looking 


MERRY  CHRISTMAS!  87 

figure.  "  This  is  the  very  little  girl  I've  come 
to  see,  and  she  must  pick  something  off  the 
tree!" 

Rosy  Posy  recognized  Uncle  Steve's  voice  now, 
and  contentedly  nestled  in  his  arms  as  he  carried 
her  to  the  tree.  And  such  a  tree  as  it  was ! 

It  reached  to  the  ceiling,  and  its  top  boughs 
had  been  cut  off  to  get  it  in  the  room  at  all. 

The  blinds  had  been  closed,  and  the  shades 
drawn,  in  order  that  the  illuminations  of  the  tree 
might  shine  out  brightly,  and  the  gorgeous  sight 
quite  took  the  children's  breath  away. 

The  big  tree  was  in  the  end  of  the  room,  and 
not  only  did  sparkling  tinsel  rope  deck  the  green 
branches,  but  its  strands  also  reached  out  to  the 
rail  on  either  side,  so  that  the  tree  seemed  to  be 
caught  in  an  immense  silver  spider-web.  Spark- 
ling ornaments  decked  every  limb  and  twig,  and 
shining  among  them  were  hundreds  of  tiny  elec- 
tric lights  of  different  colors. 

Many  beautiful  presents  hung  on  the  tree,  with- 
out wrappings  of  any  sort  to  hide  their  pretty 
effect,  and  many  more  gifts,  tied  in  be-ribboned 
papers,  lay  on  the  floor  beneath. 

Altogether,  it  looked  as  if  the  whole  end  of  the 
room  were  a  sort  of  glittering  fairyland,  and  the 


38  MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

children  promptly  agreed  it  was  the  most  beauti- 
ful tree  they  had  ever  had. 

As  Santa  Claus  held  Baby  Rosamond  up  to 
select  for  herself  a  gift  from  the  tree,  he  held 
her  so  that  she  faced  a  big  doll,  almost  as  large 
as  herself. 

"  Oh,  that  will  be  my  dollie ! "  she  announced^ 
holding  out  her  little  arms. 

The  big  doll  was  detached  from  its  perch  and 
handed  to  the  child,  who  ran  to  nurse  with  her 
treasure,  and  would  not  be  parted  from  it  all  day 
long. 

Then  said  Santa  Claus:  "  Marjorie,  next,  may 
come  and  choose  anything  she  would  like  to  use." 

He  offered  his  arm,  and,  with  exaggerated  cere- 
mony, led  Midget  to  the  tree. 

She  was  a  little  bewildered  by  the  glitter,  and 
the  variety  of  gifts  hanging  about,  but  she  spied 
a  lovely  muff  and  boa  of  fluffy  white  fur  that 
she  felt  sure  must  be  meant  for  her. 

At  any  rate  they  were  her  choice,  and  Santa 
Claus  gave  them  to  her  with  hearty  assurance 
that  she  had  chosen  well. 

Then  he  announced :  "  Next,  of  course,  is  little 
Kitty.  Choose,  my  dear !  Take  something  pretty ! " 

Kitty   advanced   slowly.     She  knew  well  what 


MERRY  CHRISTMAS!  39 

she  wanted,  but  she  didn't  see  it  on  or  under  the 
tree. 

Santa  Claus  watched  her  roving  eyes  and  then 
said :  "  If  you  don't  like  what  you  see,  look 
around  behind  the  tree !  " 

So  Kitty  peered  around,  and  sure  enough,  al- 
most hidden  by  the  strands  of  tinsel,  there  stood 
a  bookcase. 

"  I'll  choose  that ! "  she  cried,  in  glee,  and  Mr. 
Maynard  and  Santa  Claus  pulled  it  out  into  view. 
It  was  the  adjustable  kind,  with  glass  fronts,  and 
Kitty  had  long  desired  just  such  a  one  for  her 
room. 

"  Isn't  it  beautiful ! "  she  exclaimed,  sitting 
down  on  the  floor  to  examine  it,  and  to  imagine 
how  it  would  look  filled  with  story  books. 

"  Now,  Sir  Kingdon,  approach,"  called  out 
Santa  Claus ;  "  carefully  scan  the  branches  o'er, 
and  help  yourself  from  its  ample  store  1 " 

King  carae  toward  the  tree,  eying  it  carefully 
in  search  of  something  he  wanted  very  much,  yet 
scarcely  dared  hope  for. 

But,  half  hidden  by  a  paper  fairy,  he  spied  a 
gleam  of  gold,  and  pounced  upon  the  dream  of 
his  heart,  a  gold  watch! 

"  This  will  do  me ! "  he  said,  beaming  with  de- 


40  MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

light,  at  the  fine  time-piece,  with  its  neat  fob.  It 
was  a  handsome  affair  for  a  boy  of  fourteen ;  but 
King  was  careful  of  his  belongings,  and  Mr. 
Maynard  had  decided  he  could  be  trusted  with  it. 

Then  the  elder  people  received  gifts  from  each 
other  and  from  the  children,  and  then  everybody 
began  to  open  bundles,  and  "  thank  you's  "  flew 
around  like  snowflakes,  and  tissue  paper  and  gay 
ribbons  were  knee  deep  all  over  the  floor. 

"  I  didn't  know  there  were  so  many  presents 
in  the  world ! "  said  Marjorie,  who  sat  blissfully 
on  an  ottoman,  with  her  lap  full  of  lovely  things, 
and  more  on  the  floor  beside  her.  Grandma  har" 
brought  her  an  unset  pearl.  This  was  not  a  sur- 
prise, for  Grandma  had  given  her  a  pearl  every 
Christmas  of  her  life,  and  when  the  time  came  fo* 
her  to  wear  them,  they  were  to  be  made  into  4 
necklace. 

Uncle  Steve  had  brought  her  a  bureau  set  of 
ivory,  with  her  monogram  on  the  brushes,  and  the 
children  gave  her  various  trinkets. 

Then  Stella  and  Molly  had  sent  gifts  to  her, 
and  Gladys  and  some  of  the  other  school  girls 
had  also  sent  Christmas  remembrances,  with  the 
result  that  Midget  was  fairly  bewildered  at  her 
possessions.  The  others  too,  had  quantities  of 


MERRY  CHRISTMAS!  41 

things,  and  Uncle  Steve  declared  that  he  really 
had  spilled  his  whole  sack  at  this  house,  and  he 
must  rescue  some  of  the  things  to  take  to  other 
children.  But  he  didn't  really  do  this,  and  the 
Maynards,  as  was  their  custom,  arranged  their 
gifts  on  separate  tables,  and  spent  the  morning 
admiring  and  discussing  them. 

At  two  o'clock  they  had  the  Christmas  feast. 

Nurse  Nannie  played  a  gay  march  on  the  piano, 
and  Mr.  Maynard,  offering  his  arm  to  Grandma, 
led  the  way  to  the  dining-room.  King,  escorting 
Rosy  Posy,  walked  next,  followed  by  Midget  and 
Kitty.  Last  of  all  came  Mrs.  Maynard  and 
Uncle  Steve. 

The  dining-table  was  almost  as  beautiful  as 
the  Christmas  tree.  Indeed,  in  the  centre  of  it 
was  a  small  tree,  filled  with  tiny,  but  exquisite 
decorations,  and  sparkling  with  electric  lights. 
The  windows  had  been  darkened,  and  the  shining 
tree  blazed  brilliantly. 

The  table  was  decorated  with  red  ribbons  and 
holly  and  red  candles,  and  red  candle  shades  and 
everybody  had  red  favours  and  red  paper  bells. 

"  I  feel  like  a  Robin  Redbreast,"  said  Marjorie ; 
«'  isn't  it  all  beautiful !  Did  you  do  it,  Mother?  " 

"  Yes,  with  Sarah's  help,"  said  Mrs.  Maynard, 


4.2  MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

foi  her  faithful  and  clever  little  waitress  was  of 
great  assistance  in  such  matters. 

"  It's  like  eating  in  an  enchanted  palace,"  said 
Kitty.  "  Everything  is  so  bright  and  sparkly 
and  gleaming ;  and,  oh !  I'm  so  hungry ! " 

"  Me,  too !  "  chimed  in  the  other  young  May- 
nards,  and  then  they  proceeded  to  do  ample  justice 
to  the  good  things  Ellen  sent  in  in  abundance. 

But  at  last  even  the  young  appetites  were  satis^ 
fied,  and  while  the  elders  sipped  their  coffee  in 
the  library,  the  children  were  sent  off  to  play  by 
themselves. 

The  baby  was  turned  over  to  Nurse  Nannie, 
and  the  other  three  tumbled  into  their  wraps  and 
ran  out  of  doors  to  play  off  some  of  their  ex- 
uberant enthusiasm. 


CHAPTER  IV 

HAPPY  NEW  YEAR! 

"  IT'S  been  a  gay  old  week,  hasn't  it  ? "  said 
Marjorie,  on  New  Year's  Eve. 

"  You  bet ! "  cried  King,  who  sometimes  lapsed 
from  the  most  approved  diction.  "  Wish  it  was 
just  beginning.  We  had  fine  skating  till  the 
snow  came,  and  ever  since,  it's  been  bang-up 
sleighing.  Well,  only  four  more  days,  and  then 
school,  school,  school !  " 

"Don't  remind  me  of  it!"  said  Marjorie  with 
a  groan.  "  I  wish  I  was  a  Fiji  or  whatever 
doesn't  have  to  go  to  school  at  all ! " 

"  Oh,  pshaw,  Midge ;  it  isn't  so  bad  after  you 
get  started.  Only  holidays  make  you  so  jolly 
that  it's  hard  to  sit  down  and  be  quiet." 

"  It's  always  hard  for  me  to  sit  down  and  be 
quiet,"  said  Midge.  "  If  they'd  let  me  walk 
around,  or  sit  on  the  tables  or  window-sills,  I 
wouldn't  mind  school  so  much.  It's  being  cramped 
into  those  old  desks  that  I  hate." 

Poor  little  Marjorie,  so  active  and  restless,  it 
43 


44  MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

was  hard  for  her  to  endure  the  confinement  of  the 
schoolroom. 

"  Why  don't  you  ask  mother  to  let  you  go  to 
boarding-schooL  Mops  ?  "  asked  Kitty,  with  an  air 
of  having  suggested  a  brilliant  solution  of  her 
sister's  difficulties. 

Marjorie  laughed.  "  No,  thank  you,  Kitsie," 
she  said.  "  What  good  would  that  do?  In  the 
school  hours  I  s'pose  I'd  have  to  sit  as  still  as  I 
do  here,  and  out  of  school  hours  I'd  die  of  home- 
sickness. Imagine  being  away  off  alone,  without 
mil  of  you !  " 

Kitty  couldn't  imagine  anything  like  that,  so 
she  gave  it  up. 

**  Then  I  guess  you'll  have  to  go  to  school, 
same's  you  always  have  done." 

"  I  guess  I  will,"  said  Marjorie,  sighing.  "  But 
there's  a  few  more  days'  holiday  yet,  and  I'm  not 
going  to  think  about  it  till  I  have  to.  What 
shall  we  do  to-night?  It's  the  last  night  of  the 
old  year,  you  know." 

"  I  wonder  if  they'd  let  us  sit  up  and  see  it 
out,"  said  King. 

"  We  never  have,"  returned  Marjorie ;  "  I  don't 
believe  Mother  'd  say  yes,  though  maybe  Father 
would." 


HAPPY  NEW  YEAR!  45 

"If  he  does,  Mother'll  have  to,"  said  Kitty, 
with  a  knowledge  born  of  experience.  "  Let's  ask 
'em." 

"  It's  almost  bed-time  now,"  said  King, 
glancing  at  the  clock ;  "  but  I'm  not  a  bit  sleepy." 

The  others  declared  they  were  not,  either,  and 
they  all  went  in  search  of  their  parents.  They 
found  them  in  the  library,  with  Uncle  Steve  and 
Grandma,  who  were  still  visiting  them. 

"  Sit  the  old  year  out ! "  exclaimed  Mr.  May- 
nard, when  he  heard  their  request.  "  Why,  you're 
almost  asleep  now !  " 

"  Oh,  we're  not  a  bit  sleepy ! "  protested  Mar- 
jorie.  "  Do,  Daddy,  dear,  let  us  try  it, — we  never 
have,  you  know." 

"  Why,  I've  no  objections,  if  Mother  hasn't." 

Mrs.  Maynard  looked  as  if  she  didn't  think 
much  of  the  plan,  but  Uncle  Steve  broke  in, 
saying: 

"  Oh,  let  them,  of  course !  It  can't  do  them 
any  harm  except  to  make  them  sleepy  to-morrow, 
and  they  can  nap  all  day  if  they  like." 

"  Yes,  let  them  do  it,"  said  Grandma,  who  was 
an  indulgent  old  lady.  "  But  I'm  glad  I  don't 
have  to  sit  up  with  them." 

"  I  too,"   agreed  Mr.   Maynard.     "  I  used  to 


46  MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

think  it  was  fun,  but  I've  seen  so  many  New  Years 
come  sneaking  in,  that  it's  become  an  old,  old 
story." 

"  That's  just  it,  sir,"  said  King,  seeing  a  point 
of  vantage.  "  We  haven't,  you  know,  and  we'd 
like  to  see  just  how  they  come  in." 

"  Well,"  said  his  father,  "  where  will  you  hold 
this  performance?  I  can't  have  you  prowling 
all  over  the  house,  waking  up  honest  people  who 
are  abed  and  asleep." 

"  You  must  take  the  nursery,"  said  Mrs.  May- 
nard.  "  I  wouldn't  let  you  stay  downstairs  alone, 
but  you  may  stay  in  the  nursery  as  late  as  you 
like.  I  daresay  by  ten  or  half-past,  you'll  be 
glad  to  give  it  up,  and  go  to  your  beds." 

"  Not  we,"  said  King.  "  Thank  you,  heaps, 
for  letting  us  do  it.  We're  going  to  have  a  finO 
time.  Come  on,  girls !  " 

"  One  minute,  King ;  you're  not  to  make  any 
noise  after  ten-thirty.  Grandma  goes  to  her 
room  then,  and  the  rest  of  us  soon  after." 

"  All  right,  we  won't.  It  isn't  going  to  be  a 
noisy  party,  anyhow." 

"  Then  I  don't  see  how  it  can  be  a  Maynard 
party,"  said  Uncle  Steve,  quizzically,  but  the  chil- 
dren had  run  away. 


HAPPY  NEW  YEAR!  47 

"Now,  we'll  just  have  the  time  of  our  lives!" 
said  King,  as  the  three  of  them  reached  the 
nursery. 

"  Of  course  we  will,"  agreed  Marjorie.  "  What 
shall  we  do  ?  " 

"  Let's  see,  it's  nine  o'clock.  We  can  play 
anything  till  half -past  ten;  after  that  we  can 
only  do  quiet  things.  Let's  play  Blind  Man's 
Buff." 

"  All  right,  you  be  it" 

So  King  was  blindfolded,  and  he  soon  caught 
Kitty,  who  soon  caught  Midget,  and  then  she 
caught  King  again.  But  it  wasn't  very  much 
fun,  and  nobody  quite  knew  why. 

"  It  makes  me  too  tired,"  said  Kitty,  throwing 
herself  on  the  couch,  and  fanning  her  hot  little 
face  with  her  handkerchief.  "  Let's  play  a  sit- 
down  game." 

"  But  we  can  play  those  after  we  have  to  be 
quiet,"  objected  King.  "  Get  up,  Kit,  you'll  fall 
asleep  if  you  lie  there." 

"  No,  I  won't,"  said  Kitty,  opening  her  eyes 
very  wide,  but  cuddling  to  the  soft  pillow. 

"  Yes,  you  will,  too !  Come  on,  let's  play 
*  animals.'  That's  noisy  enough,  and  you  can  sit 
down  too." 


48 

"  Animals  "  was  a  card  game  where  they  sat 
round  a  table,  and  as  occasion  required  assumed 
the  voices  of  certain  animals. 

"  All  right,"  said  Kitty,  jumping  up;  w  I'll  be 
the  Laughing  Hyena." 

"I'll  be  a  Lion,"  said  King,  and  Marjorie  de- 
cided to  be  a  Rooster. 

Soon  the  game  was  in  full  swing,  and  as  the 
roar  of  the  lion,  the  crowing  of  the  rooster,  and 
the  strange  noise  that  represented  Kitty's  idea 
of  the  hyena's  mirth,  floated  downstairs,  the 
grown-ups  smiled  once  more  at  the  irrepressible 
spirits  of  the  young  Maynards.  But  after  they 
had  roared  and  crowed  and  laughed  for  what 
seemed  like  an  interminable  time,  King  looked  at 
his  Christmas  watch  and  exclaimed: 

"  Goodness,  girls !  it's  only  half -past  nine !  I 
though  it  was  about  eleven ! " 

"  So  did  I,"  said  Marjorie,  trying  to  hide  a 
yawn. 

"  Oh,  I  say,  Mops,  you're  sleepy !  " 

"  I  am  not,  either !  I  just  sort  of — sort  of 
choked." 

"  Well,  don't  do  it  again.  What  shall  we  play 
now?" 

"  Let's  sing,"  said  Kitty. 


HAPPY  NEW  YEAR!  40 

So  Mar j  orie  banged  away  on  the  nursery  piano, 
and  they  sang  everything  they  could  think  of. 

"  I  can't  play  another  note,"  said  Midget,  at 
last.  "  My  fingers  are  perfectly  numb.  Isn't  it 
nearly  twelve?  " 

"  Isn't  ten,"  said  King,  closing  his  watch  with 
a  snap.  "  We've  only  a  half-hour  more  before 
we've  got  to  be  quiet,  so  let's  make  the  most  of  it." 

"I'm  hungry,"  said  Kitty.  "Can't  we  get 
something  to  eat?  " 

"  Good  idea !  "  said  King.  "  Let's  forage  for 
some  things,  and  bring  them  up  here,  but  don't 
eat  them  until  later.  After  half -past  ten,  you 
know." 

So  they  all  slipped  down  to  the  pantry,  and 
returned  with  a  collection  of  apples  and  cookies, 
which  they  carefully  set  aside  for  a  later 
luncheon. 

"  Only  twenty  minutes  left  of  our  noisy  time," 
said  King,  with  a  suspicious  briskness  in  his  tone. 
"  Come  on,  girls,  let's  have  a  racket." 

"  There's  no  racket  to  me ! "  declared  Kitty, 
throwing  herself  on  the  couch ;  "  I  feel — quiet." 

"  Quiet !  "  exclaimed  her  brother.  "  Kit  May- 
nard,  if  you're  sleepy,  you  can  go  to  bed !  You're 
too  young  to  sit  up  with  Midge  and  me,  anyhow ! " 


50  MARJORJE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

This  touched  Kitty  in  a  sensitive  spot,  as  he 
knew  it  would. 

"  I'm  not !  "  she  cried,  indignantly ;  "  I'm  as 
old  as  you  are,  so  there ! " 

King  didn't  contradict  this,  which  would  seem 
to  prove  them  both  a  bit  sleepy. 

"You  are,  Kitty!"  said  Marjorie,  laughing; 
"  you're  older  than  either  of  us !  So  you  tell  us 
what  to  do  to  keep  awake ! " 

It  was  out!  Marjorie  had  admitted  that  they 
were  sleepy. 

King  grinned  a  little  sheepishly.  "  Pooh,"  he 
said,  "  it'll  pass  over  if  we  just  get  interested  in 
something.  Let's  read  aloud  to  each  other." 

"  That  always  puts  me  to  sleep,"  said  Kitty, 
with  a  fearful  and  undisguised  yawn. 

"  Kit !  if  you  do  that  again,  we'll  put  you  out ! 
Now,  brace  up, — or  else  go  to  bed !  " 

Kitty  braced  up.  Indeed,  Kitty  had  special 
powers  in  this  direction,  if  she  chose  to  exercise 
them. 

"  Pooh,  I  can  brace  up  better  than  either  of 
you,"  she  said,  confidently ;  "  and  here's  how  I'm 
going  to  do  it." 

She  went  over  to  the  big  nursery  washstand, 
and  turning  the  cold  water  faucet,  ran  the 


HAPPY  NEW  YEAR!  61 

bowl  full,  and  then  plunged  her  face  and  hands 
in. 

"  Kit,  you're  a  genius ! "  cried  her  brother,  in 
admiration,  as  she  came  up,  spluttering,  and  then 
made  another  dash.  Soon  Kitty's  face  was  hid- 
den in  the  folds  of  a  rough  towel,  and  the  others 
successively  followed  her  lead. 

"  My !  how  it  freshens  you ! "  said  Marjorie, 
rubbing  her  rosy  cheeks  till  they  glowed.  "  I'm 
as  wide  awake  as  anything !  " 

"  So'm  I,"  said  King.  "  Kit,  I  take  off  my 
hat  to  you!  Now  it's  half -past  ten.  I  move  we 
eat  our  foods,  and  then  we  can  have  a  good  time 
playing  pareheesi  or  jack-straws." 

They  drew  up  to  the  nursery  table,  and  en- 
deavored to  enjoy  the  cookies  and  apples. 

"  How  funny  things  taste  at  night,"  said  Kitty. 
"  I'm  not  hungry,  after  all." 

"  You'd  better  wash  your  face  again,"  said 
Marjorie,  looking  at  her  sister's  drooping  eyelids. 

"  Do  something  to  her,"  said  King,  in  despair. 

So  Marjorie  tickled  Kitty,  until  she  made  her 
laugh,  and  that  roused  her  a  little. 

"I  won't  go  to  sleep,"  she  said,  earnestly; 
"  truly,  I  won't.  I  want  to  see  the  New  Year 
come.  Let's  look  out  the  window  for  it." 


52  MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

Kitty's  plans  were  always  good  ones. 

Drawing  the  curtains  aside  the  three  stood  at 
the  window,  their  arms  about  each  other. 

"Isn't  it  still?"  whispered  Marjorie,  "and 
look  at  the  moon !  " 

A  yellow,  dilapidated-looking,  three-quarter  sort 
of  a  moon  was  sinking  in  the  west,  and  the  bare 
branches  of  the  trees  stood  out  blackly  in  the  half- 
light. 

The  roads  gleamed  white,  and  the  shrubbery 
looked  dark,  the  whole  landscape  was  weird  and 
unlike  the  sunny  scenes  they  knew  so  well. 

"  I  s'pose  everybody  in  the  house  is  abed  now, 
but  us,"  said  King.  He  meant  it  exultantly,  but 
his  voice  had  a  tone  of  awe,  that  found  an  echo  in 
the  girls'  hearts. 

"  Come  away  from  the  window,"  said  Midge, 
turning  back  to  the  brightly  lighted  room.  "  Let's 
think  of  something  nice  to  do." 

"  I  can  think  better  here,"  said  Kitty,  dropping 
heavily  on  the  couch,  her  head,  by  good  luck, 
striking  squarely  in  the  middle  of  the  pillow. 

"Kit,"  said  her  brother,— "  Kitty,— you,— 
you  go  to  bed, — if  you — if  you  can't — 

As  King  spoke,  he  came  across  a  big  armchair, 
and  quite  unintentionally  he  let  himself  fall  into  it. 


HAPPY  NEW  YEAR!  53 

It  felt  very  pleasant,  somehow, — so  much  so,  in- 
deed, that  he  neglected  to  finish  his  admonition  to 
Kitty,  and  she  wouldn't  have  heard  it  if  he 
had! 

Marjorie,  by  a  strange  coincidence,  also  met  a 
most  friendly  Morris  chair,  which  held  out  in- 
viting arms.  It  seemed  a  pity  to  refuse  such 
cordiality,  so  Marjorie  sat  down  in  it  a  minute 
to  do  that  thinking  they  had  spoken  about.  What 
was  it  they  were  to  think  of?  Something  about 
the  moon?  No,  that  wasn't  it.  Her  new  furs? 
Not  quite;  school, — Gladys, — cookies? 

These  thoughts  drifted  confusedly  about  Mar- 
jorie's  brain  for  a  few  moments,  and  then,  with 
a  little  tired  sigh,  her  curly  head  dropped  back 
on  the  Morris  chair's  velvet  cushion,  and  her  eyes 
closed. 

How  those  three  children  did  sleep !  The  sound, 
hard  sleep  that  only  healthy,  romping  children 
know.  When  Mrs.  Maynard  softly  opened  the 
door  a  little  later,  she  almost  laughed  aloud  at  the 
picturesque  trio. 

But  stifling  her  mirth  lest  she  awake  them,  she 
called  her  husband  to  her  side.  After  a  few  whis- 
pered words,  they  went  away,  and  returned  with 
down  quilts  and  steamer  rugs,  which  they  gently; 


54  MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

tucked  about  the  vanquished  heroes,  and  then 
lowering  the  lights  left  them  asleep  at  their 
posts. 

For  an  hour  the  children  slept  soundly,  and 
then,  at  ten  minutes  before  twelve  the  nursery  door 
was  softly  opened  again. 

This  time,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Maynard,  accompanied 
by  Grandma  Sherwood  and  Uncle  Steve,  came  in, 
apparently  with  the  intention  of  staying.  Mr. 
Maynard  snapped  on  the  lights,  and  the  grown* 
ups  smiled  as  they  gazed  on  the  faces  of  the  sleep- 
ing children. 

"  What  time  is  it,  Fred?  "  asked  Mrs.  Maynard. 

"  Seven  minutes  of  twelve." 

"  Waken  them,  then.  There  isn't  any  too 
much  time." 

So  Mr.  Maynard  sprung  a  small  "  watchman's 
rattle."  It  made  a  pleasant  whirr,  but  he  was 
obliged  to  hold  it  near  each  child's  ear  before 
those  deep  slumbers  were  disturbed. 

"  What  is  it  ?  "  said  King,  who  first  opened  his 
eyes.  "  Kitty,  you're  asleep !  " 

His  last  waking  thought  possessed  him  as  his 
eye  fell  on  his  sleeping  sister,  he  spoke  before  he 
realized  that  he  had  been  asleep  himself. 

"  What's  the  matter?  "  he  said,  seeing  all  the 


HAPPY  NEW  YEAR!  55 

people  standing  about,  and  noticing  the  rug  over 
himself. 

"  Nothing's  the  matter,"  answered  his  father, 
blithely,  "  only  the  New  Year  is  hurrying  toward 
us,  and  we  all  want  to  greet  it  together." 

"  You  bet  we  do ! "  cried  King,  now  broad 
awake,  and  shaking  himself  out  of  his  rug  as  he 
jumped  up. 

Mrs.  Maynard  was  rousing  Kitty,  and  sat  be- 
side the  half -asleep  child  with  her  arm  round  her, 
while  Grandma  was  treating  Marjorie  in  the  same 
way. 

"  It  seems  a  shame,"  began  Grandma,  but  Uncle 
Steve  interrupted: 

"  A  shame  to  wake  them  ?  Not  a  bit  of  it !  It 
would  be  a  shame  to  let  them  sleep  through  a 
chance  that  they  won't  get  again  for  a  year! 
Hello !  chickabiddies  !  Hello !  Wake  up !  Fire ! 
Murder  !  Thieves  !  Fred,  give  me  that  rattle !  " 

Taking  the  noisy  little  toy,  Uncle  Steve  sprang 
it  vigorously,  and  was  rewarded  for  his  efforts  by 
seeing  the  two  girls  at  last  on  their  feet  and  smil- 
ing broadly, — wide  awake  now,  indeed. 

"  Five  minutes  grace,"  said  Mr.  Maynard. 
"  Out  with  your  watches,  you  who  have  them. 
The  rest  look  on  with  somebody  else." 


56  MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

Kitty  ran  to  her  father's  side,  and  cuddled  in 
*iis  arm,  as  she  looked  at  his  watch.  Marjorie 
saw  Uncle  Steve's  smile  inviting  her,  so  she  flew 
across  the  room  to  him;  and  King  politely  offered 
his  watch  to  his  mother  and  grandmother,  saying 
the  nursery  clock  would  do  for  him. 

Care  was  taken  to  have  all  the  time-pieces  set 
exactly  alike,  and  then  it  was  three  minutes  of 
midnight,  and  they  waited. 

"  He'll  come  in  at  the  window,  the  New  Year 
will,"  said  Mr.  Maynard  as  he  flung  the  casement 
wide  open.  "  The  old  year  is  going.  Bid  him 
good-bye,  children,  you'll  never  see  him  again* 
Good-bye,  old  year,  good-bye !  " 

"  Good-bye,  old  year,  good-bye ! "  they  all  said 
in  concert,  and  murmured  it  again,  as  the  last 
seconds  flew  steadily  by. 

"  Happy  New  Year ! "  shouted  Mr.  Maynard, 
as  his  second-hand  reached  the  mark,  but  he  was 
no  quicker  than  the  others,  and  all  the  voices  rang 
out  a  "  Happy  New  Year  "  simultaneously. 

Then  the  village  clock  began  to  strike  twelve, 
all  the  bells  in  the  little  town  began  to  ring,  some 
firing  was  hearcl,  and  shouts  from  passers-by  In 
the  streets  added  to  the  general  jubilee. 

"Isn't   it   splendid!"    cried   Marjorie,   as    she 


HAPPY  NEW  YEAR!  57 

leaned  out  of  the  window.  "  The  moon  is  gone, 
but  see  the  bright,  bright  stars,  all  twinkling 
'  Happy  New  Year  '  to  us !  " 

"  May  it  indeed  be  a  Happy  New  Year  for  you, 
my  dear  child,"  said  her  father,  as  he  kissed  her 
tenderly. 

And  then  everybody  was  exchanging  kisses  and 
greetings,  and  good  wishes,  and  Marjorie  realized 
that  at  last,  she  had  sat  up  to  "  see  the  New 
Year  in." 

"  But  I  don't  see  how  we  happened  to  fall 
asleep,"  she  said,  looking  puzzled. 

"I,  either,"  said  King;  "I  was  just  bound  I 
Wouldn't,  and  then  I  did." 

**  You  were  bound  I  shouldn't,  too,"  said  Kitty, 
"  but  I  did  !  " 

"You  all  did!"  said  Mr.  Maynard.  "Such 
sleeping  I  never  saw !  " 

"  Well,  it  was  lovely  of  you  to  wake  us  up," 
«aid  Marjorie;  "I  wouldn't  have  missed  all  this 
for  anything." 

"  All  things  come  to  him  who  waits,"  said  her 
father,  "  and  you  certainly  waited  very  quietly 
and  patiently !  " 

"  And  now,  skip  to  bed,"  said  Mrs.  Maynard, 
**  and  not  until  three  hundred  and  sixty-fi  v  nighlj 


58  MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

are  passed,  do  we  have  such  a  performance  as  this 


again." 


"  All  right,"  said  the  children,  "  good-night, 
and  Happy  New  Year !  " 

"  Good-night  and  Happy  New  Year ! "  echoed 
the  grown-ups. 


CHAPTER  V 

A    TEARFUL    TIME 

THE  New  Year  was  about  a  week  old,  and  so  far, 
had  nobly  fulfilled  all  hopes  of  happiness. 

To  be  sure,  Marjorie  had  been  obliged  to  begin 
school  again,  but  as  she  had  the  companionship 
of  Gladys  Fulton,  who  dearly  loved  to  go  to 
school,  it  helped  her  to  bear  the  trial. 

She  had  been  to  spend  the  afternoon  with  Gladys 
and  was  returning  home  at  five  o'clock,  as  was 
the  rule  for  winter  days. 

She  turned  in  at  her  own  gate-way,  and  had 
there  been  any  one  to  see  her,  it  might  have  been 
noticed  that  her  demeanor  and  expression  were 
very  unlike  the  usual  appearance  of  gay,  laugh- 
ing Marjorie  Maynard. 

In  fact,  she  looked  the  picture  of  utter  despair 
and  dejection.  Her  head  hung  down,  her  steps 
were  slow,  and  yet  she  seemed  filled  with  a  riot  of 
indignation. 

Her  face  was  flushed  and  her  eyes  red,  and 


60  MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

though  not  exactly  crying,  great  shivering  sobs 
now  and  then  shook  her  whole  body. 

Once  inside  her  own  home  grounds,  she  quick- 
ened her  pace  a  little,  and  almost  ran  up  the 
verandah  steps  and  in  at  the  door. 

She  slammed  it  behind  her,  and  though,  I  am 
sorry  to  say,  this  was  not  an  unusual  proceeding 
for  Midget,  yet  she  was  truly  trying  to  break 
herself  of  the  habit. 

But  this  time  she  gave  the  door  a  hard,  angry 
slam,  and  flinging  her  wraps  anywhere,  as  she  went 
along,  she  brushed  hastily  through  the  various 
rooms  in  search  of  her  mother. 

But  Mrs.  Maynard  and  Kitty  had  gone  out 
driving,  and  King  wasn't  at  home,  either,  so  poor 
Mar j  orie,  her  eyes  now  blinded  with  surging  tears, 
itumbled  on  to  her  own  room,  and  threw  herself, 
sobbing  on  her  little  white  bed. 

She  buried  her  face  in  the  pillow  and  gave  way 
to  such  tumultuous  grief  that  the  brass  bedstead 
fairly  shook  in  sympathy. 

"  I  can't  bear  it ! "  she  murmured,  half  aloud ; 
"  I  can't  bear  it !  It's  a  wicked  shame !  I  don't 
want  to  live  any  more !  Oh,  I  wish  Mother  would 
come  home ! " 

For  nearly  half  an  hour  Mar  j  orie  cried  and 


A  TEARFUL  TIME  61 

cried.  Now  with  big,  bursting,  heart-rending 
sobs,  and  at  quieter  intervals,  with  floods  of  hot 
tears. 

Her  little  handkerchief  became  a  useless,  wet 
ball,  and  she  dried  her  eyes,  spasmodically,  on 
various  parts  of  the  pillow-case. 

At  last,  in  one  of  her  paroxysms  of  woe,  she 
felt  a  little  hand  on  her  cheek,  and  Rosy  Posy's 
little  voice  said,  sweetly: 

"  What  'e  matter,  Middy  ?  Wosy  Posy  loves 
'oo!" 

This  was  a  crumb  of  comfort,  and  Marjorie 
drew  the  baby's  cool  cheek  against  her  own  hot 
one. 

The  child  scrambled  up  on  the  bed,  beside  her 
sister,  and  petted  her  gently,  saying: 

"  Don't  ky,  Middy;  'top  kyin'." 

"  Oh,  Rosy  Posy,  I'm  so  miserable !  where  is 
Mother?" 

"  Muvver  dawn  yidin'.  Wosy  take  care  of  'oo. 
Want  Nannie?" 

"  No,  I  don't  want  Nannie.  You  stay  here, 
Httle  sister,  till  Mother  comes." 

"  Ess.     Wosy  'tay  wiv  Middy.     Dear  Middy." 

The  loving  baby  cuddled  up  to  her  sister,  and 
smoothed  back  the  tangled  curls  with  her  soft 


62  MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

little  hand,  until  exhausted  Mar j  one,  quite  worn 
out  with  her  turbulent  storm  of  tears,  fell 
asleep. 

And  here  Mrs.  Maynard  found  them,  as,  com- 
ing in  soon,  she  went  in  search  of  her  eldest 
daughter. 

"Why,  Baby,"  she  said;  "what's  the  matter? 
Is  Marjorie  sick?  " 

"  No,"  said  Rosamond,  holding  up  a  tiny  finger. 
"  She's  aseep.  She  kied  and  kied,  Middy  did,  an' 
nen  she  went  seepy-by,  all  herself." 

"  Cried !  "  exclaimed  Mrs.  Maynard,  looking  at 
Midget's  swollen,  tear-stained  face.  "  What  was 
she  crying  about?  " 

"  I  donno,"  answered  Rosy,  "  but  she  feeled 
awful  bad  'bout  somefin'." 

"  I  should  think  she  did !  You  run  away  to 
Nurse,  darling;  you  were  good  Baby  to  take  care 
of  Midget,  but,  now,  run  away  and  leave  her  to 
Mother." 

Mrs.  Maynard  brought  some  cool  water  and 
bathed  the  flushed  little  face,  and  then  sprinkling 
some  violet  water  on  a  handkerchief  she  laid  it 
lightly  across  Midget's  brow.  After  a  time  th^ 
child  woke,  and  found  her  mother  sitting  beside 
her. 


A  TEARFUL  TIME  63 

"  Oh,  Mother !  "  she  cried;  «  oh,  Mother!  " 

"  What  is  it,  dearie?  "  said  Mrs.  Maynard,  put- 
ting her  arms  round  Marjorie.  "  Tell  Mother,  and 
we'll  make  it  all  right,  somehow." 

She  was  quite  sure  Miss  Mischief  had  been  up 
to  some  prank,  which  had  turned  out  disastrously* 
But  it  must  have  been  a  serious  one,  and  perhaps 
there  were  grave  consequences  to  be  met. 

"Oh,  Mother,  it's  the  most  dreadful  thing!" 
Here  Marjorie's  sobs  broke  out  afresh,  and  she 
really  couldn't  speak  coherently. 

"  Never  mind,"  said  Mrs.  Maynard,  gently, 
fearing  the  excitable  child  would  fly  into  hys- 
terics. "  Never  mind  it  to-night.  Tell  me  about 
it  to-morrow." 

"  N-no, — I  w-want  to  tell  you  now, — only, — 
I  c-can't  talk.  Oh,  Mother,  what  shall  I  d-do? 
G-Gladys " 

"  Yes,  dear ;  Gladys, — what  did  she  do  ?  Or 
perhaps  you  and  Gladys " 

Mrs.  Maynard  now  surmised  that  the  two 
girls  were  in  some  mischievous  scrape,  and  she  felt 
positive  that  Majorie  had  been  the  instigator,  as 
indeed  she  usually  was. 

"  Oh,  Mother,  darling,"  as  something  in  Mrs. 
Maynard's  tone  made  Marjorie  smile  a  little 


64  MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

through  her  tears,  "  it  isn't  mischief!  It's  a 
thousand  times  worse  than  that ! " 

Middy  was  quieter  now,  with  the  physical  calm 
that  always  follows  a  storm  of  tears. 

"  It's  this ;  Gladys  is  going  away !  Forever ! 
I  mean,  they're  all  going  to  move  away, — out 
west,  and  I'll  never  see  her  again !  " 

Mrs.  Maynard  realized  at  once  what  this  meant 
to  Mar j  one.  The  girls  were  such  good  friends, 
and  neither  of  them  cared  so  much  for  any  one 
else,  as  for  each  other.  The  Fultons  lived  just 
across  the  street,  and  had  always  lived  there, 
through  both  the  little  girls'  lives.  It  was  almost 
like  losing  her  own  brother  or  sister,  for  Mar- 
jorie  and  Gladys  were  as  lovingly  intimate  as  two 
sisters  could  be. 

Also,  it  seemed  a  case  where  no  word  of  comfort 
or  cheer  could  be  spoken. 

So  Mrs.  Maynard  gently  caressed  her  troubled 
child;  and  said: 

"  My  poor,  darling  Midget ;  I'm  so  sorry  for 
you.  Are  you  sure?  Tell  me  all  about  it." 

"  Yes,  Mother,"  went  on  Marjorie,  helped  al- 
ready by  her  mother's  loving  sympathy ;  "  they 
just  told  me  this  afternoon.  I've  been  over  there, 
you  know,  and  Gladys  and  Mrs.  Fulton  told  me 


A  TEARFUL  TIME  65 

all  about  it.  Mr.  Fulton  isn't  well,  or  something, 
and  for  his  health,  they're  all  going  to  California, 
to  live  there.  And  they're  going  right  away! 
The  doctor  says  they  must  hurry.  And,  oh,  what 
shall  I  do  without  Gladys  ?  I  love  her  so !  " 

"  Dear  little  girl,  this  is  your  first  trouble ;  and 
it  has  come  to  you  just  in  the  beginning  of  this 
happy  New  Year.  I  can't  tell  you  how  sorry  I 
am  for  you,  and  how  I  long  to  help  you  bear  it. 
But  there's  no  way  I  can  help,  except  by  sym- 
pathy and  love." 

"  You  do  help,  Mother.  I  thought  I'd  die  be- 
fore you  came ! " 

"  Yes,  darling,  I  know  my  sympathy  helps  you, 
but  I  mean,  I  can't  do  anything  to  lessen  your 
sorrow  at  losing  Gladys." 

"  No, — and  oh,  Mother,  isn't  it  awful  ?  Why, 
I've  always  had  Gladys." 

"  You'll  have  to  play  more  with  Kitty." 

"  Oh,  of  course  I  love  Kit,  to  play  with  at  home, 
and  to  be  my  sister.  But  Glad  is  my  ch  am,  my 
intimate  friend,  and  we  always  sit  together  in 
schoo],  and  everything  like  that.  Kitty's  in  an- 
other room,  and  besides,  she  has  Dorothy  Adams 
for  her  friend.  You  know  the  difference  between 
friends  and  sisters,  don't  you,  Mother?" 


66  MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

"  Of  course  I  do,  Midget,  dear.  You  and  Kitty 
are  two  loving  little  sisters,  but  I  quite  under- 
stand how  you  each  love  your  friends  of  your  own 
age." 

"  And  Kitty  can  keep  Dorothy,  but  I  must  lose 
Gladys,"  and  Marjorie's  sobs  broke  out  anew. 

"  Why,  Mopsy  Midget  Maynard !  Why  are  we 
having  April  showers  in  January?  " 

Mr.  Maynaid's  cheery  voice  sounded  in  Mar- 
jorie's doorway,  and  his  wife  beckoned  him  to 
come  in. 

"  See  what  you  can  do  for  our  little  girl,"  she 
said ;  "  she  is  trying  to  bear  her  first  real  trouble, 
and  I'm  sure,  after  these  first  awful  hours  she's 
going  to  be  brave  about  it." 

"  What  is  it,  Mops  ?  "  said  her  father,  taking 
the  seat  Mrs.  Maynard  vacated.  "  Tell  your  old 
father-chum  aH  about  it.  You  know  your  troubles 
are  mine,  too." 

"  Oh,  Father,"  said  Marjorie,  brightening  a 
little  under  the  influence  of  his  strong,  helpful 
voice ;  "  Gladys  Fulton  is  going  away  from  Rock- 
well to  live;  and  I  can't  have  her  for  my  chum 
any  more." 

"  Yes,  I  know ;  I  saw  Mr.  Fulton  and  he  told 
me.  He's  pretty  ill,  Marjorie." 


A  TEARFUL  TIME  67 

"  Yes,  I  know  it ;  and  I'm  awful  sorry  for  him, 
and  for  them.  But  I'm  sorry  for  myself  too; 
I  don't  want  Gladys  to  go  away." 

"  That's  so ;  you  will  lose  your  chum,  won't 
you?  By  jiminy!  it  is  hard  lines,  little  girl. 
How  are  you  going  to  take  it?  " 

Marjorie  stopped  crying,  and  stared  at  her 
father. 

"  How  am  I  going  to  take  it?  "  she  said,  in 
surprise. 

"  Yes ;  that's  what  I  asked.  Of  course,  it's  a 
sorrow,  and  a  deep  one,  and  you'll  be  very  lonely 
without  Gladys,  and  though  your  mother  and  I, 
and  all  of  us,  will  help  you  all  we  can,  yet  we 
can't  help  much.  So,  it's  up  to  you.  Are  you 
going  to  give  way,  and  mope  around,  and  make 
yourself  even  more  miserable  than  need  be;  or, 
are  you  going  to  be  brave,  and  honestly  try  to 
bear  this  trouble  nobly  and  patiently  ?  " 

Marjorie  looked  straight  into  her  father's  eyes, 
and  realized  that  he  was  not  scolding  or  lecturing 
her,  he  was  looking  at  her  with  deep,  loving  sym- 
pathy that  promised  real  help. 

"  I  will  try  to  bear  it  bravely,"  she  said,  slowly ; 
"  but,  Father,  that  doesn't  make  it  any  easier  to 
have  Gladys  go." 


68  MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

Mr.  Maynard  smiled  at  this  very  human  senti- 
ment, and  said: 

"  No,  Midget,  dear,  it  doesn't,  in  one  way ;  but 
in  another  way  it  does.  You  mustn't  think  that  I 
don't  appreciate  fully  your  sorrow  at  losing 
Gladys.  But  troubles  come  into  every  life,  and 
though  this  is  your  first,  I  cannot  hope  it  will  be 
your  last.  So,  if  you  are  to  have  more  of  them, 
you  must  begin  to  learn  to  bear  them  rightly,  and 
so  make  them  help  your  character-growth  and  not 
hinder  it." 

"  But,  Father,  you  see  Gladys  helps  my  char- 
acter a  lot.  She  loves  to  go  to  school,  and  I 
hate  it.  But  if  I  go  with  her,  and  sit  with  her, 
I  don't  mind  it  so  much.  But  without  her, — oh, 
how  can  I  go  to  school  without  her?  " 

Again  Marjorie  wept  as  one  who  could  not  be 
comforted,  and  Mr.  Maynard  realized  it  was  truly 
a  crisis  in  the  little  girl's  life. 

"  Marjorie,"  he  said,  very  tenderly,  "  it  is  a 
hard  blow,  and  I  don't  wonder  it  is  crushing  you. 
Nor  do  I  expect  you  to  take  a  philosophical  view 
of  it  at  present.  But,  my  child,  we'll  look  at  it 
practically,  at  least.  Gladys  is  going;  nothing 
can  change  that  fact.  Now,  for  my  sake,  as  well 
as  your  own,  I'm  going  to  ask  you  to  be  my  own 


A  TEARFUL  TIME  69 

brave  daughter,  and  not  disappoint  me  by  show- 
ing a  lack  of  cheerful  courage  to  meet  mis- 
fortune." 

"  I  don't  want  to  be  babyish,  Father,"  said 
Midget,  suddenly  feeling  ashamed  of  herself. 

"  You're  not  babyish,  dear ;  it's  right  and 
womanly  to  feel  grief  at  losing  Gladys ;  but  since 
it  has  to  be,  I  want  you  to  conquer  that  grief,  and 
not  let  it  conquer  you." 

"  I'll  try,"  said  Midge,  wiping  away  some  tears. 

"  You  know,  Marjorie,  the  old  rhyme: 

** '  For  every  evil  under  the  sun, 

There  is  a  remedy,  or  there's  none; 

If  there  is  one,  try  to  find  it, 

And  if  there  is  none,  never  mind  it.' 

Now,  I  don't  say  *  never  mind  it '  about  this  mat- 
ter, but  since  there's  no  remedy,  do  the  best  you 
can  to  rise  above  it,  as  you  will  have  to  do  many 
times  in  your  future  years." 

"Father,"  said  Marjorie,  thoughtfully;  "that 
sounds  awful  noble,  but  I  don't  believe  I  quite 
understand.  What  can  I  do  to  '  rise  above  it J?  " 

"  Marjorie,  you're  a  trump !  I'd  rather  you'd 
be  practical,  than  wise.  And  there's  no  better 
weapon  with  which  to  fight  trouble  than  prac- 
ticality. Now,  I'll  tell  you  what  to  do.  And  I 


70  MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

don't  mean  to-day  or  to-morrow,  for  just  at  first, 
you  wouldn't  be  a  human  little  girl  if  you  didn't 
nearly  cry  your  eyes  out  at  the  loss  of  your  friend. 
But  soon, — say  about  next  Tuesday, — if  you 
could  begin  to  smile  a  little,  and  though  I  know 
it  will  be  hard,  smile  a  little  wider  and  wider  each 
day " 

"  Till  the  top  of  my  head  comes  off?  "  said 
Marjorie,  smiling  already. 

"  Yes ;  theoretically.  But  make  up  your  mind 
that  since  Gladys  must  go,  you're  not  going  to 
let  the  fact  turn  you  into  a  sad,  dolorous  mope 
instead  of  Mops." 

"  That's  all  very  well  at  home,  Father  dear, 
but  I'll  miss  her  so  at  school." 

"  Of  course  you  will ;  but  is  there  any  remedy?  " 

"  No,  there  isn't.  I  don't  want  any  other  seat- 
mate,  and  I  don't  want  to  sit  alone." 

"  Oh !  Well,  I  can't  see  any  way  out  of  that, 
unless  I  go  and  sit  with  you." 

Marjorie  had  to  laugh  at  this.  "  You  couldn't 
squeeze  in  the  space,"  she  said. 

"  Well,  then  you've  proved  there's  no  remedy. 
So,  never  mind  it!  I  mean  that,  dearie.  When 
you  are  lonely  and  just  fairly  aching  for  Gladys, 
put  it  bravely  out  of  your  mind." 


A  TEARFUL  TIME  71 

"How  can  I?" 

"  Why,  fill  your  mind  with  something  else  that 
will  crowd  it  out.  Say  to  yourself,  '  There's  that 
sorrow  poking  his  head  up  again,  and  I  must  push 
him  down.'  Then  go  at  something  hard.  Study 
your  spelling,  or  go  on  a  picnic,  anything  to 
crowd  that  persistent  sorrow  out." 

"  Can't  I  ever  think  of  Gladys?  " 

"  Oh,  yes,  indeed !  but  think  gay,  happy 
thoughts.  If  memories  of  your  good  times  make 
you  sad,  then  cut  them  out,  and  wonder  what 
sort  of  fun  she's  having  where  she  is.  Write 
her  nice,  cheery  letters.  Letters  are  lots  of 
fun." 

"  Indeed  they  are,"  said  Marjorie,  brightening. 
"  I'll  love  to  get  her  letters." 

"  Of  course  you  will.  And  you  can  send  each 
other  postcards  and  little  gifts,  and  if  you  try 
you  can  have  a  lot  of  pleasure  with  Gladys  in 
spite  of  old  sorrow." 

"  Daddy,  you're  such  a  dear !  You've  helped 
me  a  heap." 

"  That's  what  daddys  are  for,  Midget  mine. 
You're  one  of  my  four  favorite  children,  and 
don't  you  suppose  I'd  help  you  to  the  earth,  if  you 
wanted  it  ?  " 


72  MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

"  I  'spect  you  would.  And,  Father,  you  said  I 
could  cry  till  about  Tuesday,  didn't  you  ?  " 

"  Why,  yes ;  but  make  it  a  little  shorter  spell 
each  day,  and, — if  perfectly  convenient,  arrange 
to  do  it  when  I'm  at  home." 

"Oh,  Father,  that's  the  time  I  won't  cry! 
When  you're  here  to  talk  to  me." 

"  You  don't  say  so !  Then  I'll  retire  from  busi- 
ness, close  up  my  office,  and  stay  at  home  all  day 
hereafter.  Anything  I  can  do  to  help  a  lady  in 
distress,  must  be  done !  " 

They  were  both  laughing  now,  and  Midge  had 
quite  stopped  crying,  though  her  heart  was  heavy 
underneath  her  smiles. 

But  the  whole  current  of  her  thoughts  had 
been  changed  by  her  talk  with  her  father,  and  as 
she  made  herself  tidy,  and  went  down  to  dinner, 
she  felt  a  responsibility  on  her  to  act  as  became 
the  brave  daughter  of  such  a  Jear  father. 

And,  strange  to  say,  the  feeling  was  not  enfirefy 
unpleasant. 


CHAPTER  VI 

THE    GOING    OF    GLADYS 

GLADYS    was    to    go    away    early    one    Saturday 
morning. 

On  Friday  afternoon  Marjorie  gave  a  little 
farewell  party  for  her. 

Mrs.  Maynard  arranged  this  as  a  pleasant  send- 
off  for  Marjorie's  friend,  and  determined  that 
though  it  was  a  sad  occasion,  it  should  be  also  a 
merry  one. 

So,  instead  of  depending  on  the  guests  to  make 
their  own  entertainment,  a  professional  entertainer 
had  been  engaged  from  New  York,  and  he  sang 
and  recited  and  did  pantomimes  that  were  so  funny 
nobody  could  help  laughing. 

And,  too,  though  all  the  children  liked  Dick  and 
Gladys  Fulton,  yet  none  felt  so  very  sorry  to 
have  them  leave  Rockwell  as  Marjorie  did. 

Even  Kingdon,  though  he  was  good  chums  with 
Dick,  had  other  chums,  and,  while  sorry  to  have 
Dick  go,  he  didn't  take  it  greatly  to  heart. 

13 


74  MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

Marjorie  was  truly  trying  to  be  brave,  but  she 
looked  at  Gladys  with  a  heart  full  of  love  and 
longing  to  keep  her  friend  near  her. 

As  for  Gladys,  herself,  she,  too,  was  sad  at 
leaving  Marjorie,  but  she  was  so  full  of  wonder 
and  curiosity  about  the  new  home  they  were  going 
to.  in  the  land  of  flowers  and  sunshine,  that  she 
was  fairly  impatient  to  get  there. 

"  Just  think,  Mopsy,"  she  said,  as  the  two  girls 
sat  together  at  the  party  feast,  "  the  roses  out 
there  are  as  big  as  cabbages,  and  bloom  all  the 
year  round." 

"  Are  they  really  ?  "  said  Midget,  interested  in 
spite  of  herself. 

"  Yes,  and  I'll  send  you  a  big  box  of  them  as 
soon  as  I  get  there.  They'll  keep  all  right,  'cause 
mother  received  a  box  the  other  day,  and  they  were 
as  fresh  as  fresh." 

"  And  you'll  write  to  me,  Glad,  won't  you  ?  " 
said  Marjorie,  a  little  wistfully. 

"  'Course  I  will !  I'll  write  every  week,  and  you 
write  every  week.  What  day  do  you  choose?  " 

"  Monday ;  that  comes  first." 

"  All  right.  You  write  to  me  every  Monday, 
and  I'll  write  to  you  every  Thursday." 

"  You  can't  answer  a  Monday  letter  on  Thurs- 


THE  GOING  OF  GLADYS  75 

day,"  put  in  Gladys's  brother  Dick ;  "  it  takes 
five  or  six  days  for  a  letter  to  go." 

"  Well,  I'll  write  the  Monday  after  you  go," 
said  Marjorie,  "  and  then  you  answer  it  as  soon 
as  you  get  it ;  then  I'll  answer  yours  as  soon  as  I 
get  it,  and  so  on." 

"  All  right,  I  will.  And  I'll  write  you  a  letter 
while  I'm  on  the  train,  travelling.  Of  course  we'll 
be  five  or  six  days  getting  there  ourselves." 

"  So  you  will.  Oh,  Gladys,  California  is  awful 
far  away !  " 

"  Yes,  isn't  it !  But,  Mops,  maybe  you  can 
come  out  there  and  visit  me  some  time." 

Marjorie  looked  doubtful.  "  No,"  she  said, 
"  I  don't  think  I  could  go  and  leave  them  all,  and 
I  don't  s'pose  you  mean  for  us  all  to  come." 

"  No,  I  meant  just  you.  Well,  I'll  come  here 
and  visit  you,  some  time,  how's  that?  " 

"  Lovely !  "  cried  Midge,  with  sparkling  eyes. 
"  Oh,  will  you,  Gladys  ?  That  will  be  something 
to  look  forward  to.  Will  you?  " 

"  Of  course  I  will,  Mops,  dear.  I  know 
mother'll  let  me,  and  I'd  love  to  come." 

This  was  a  real  consolation,  and  Marjorie  laid  it 
up  in  her  heart  for  comfort  on  lonely  days. 

After  the  party  supper  was  over,  most  of  the 


76  MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

young  guests  gave  Gladys  or  Dick  little  gifts 
which  they  had  brought  them  as  remembrances. 

They  were  merely  pretty  trifles,  but  the  Fulton 
children  were  greatly  pleased,  and  declared  they 
should  never  forget  their  Rockwell  friends  for  any 
they  might  make  in  California. 

Mar j one  gave  Gladys  a  gold  neck-chain,  with 
a  little  gold  heart  containing  her  picture,  and 
Gladys  had  already  given  Midge  her  own  portrait 
framed  in  silver  to  stand  on  her  dressing-table. 
The  young  guests  all  went  away  except  the  two 
Fultons,  who  were  to  stay  to  dinner.  Mr.  May- 
nard  came  home,  and  with  a  determination  to  keep 
Marjorie's  spirits  up,  he  was  especially  gay  and 
nonsensical. 

"  I  suppose  Uncle  Sam  will  have  to  put  on  extra 
mail  service  when  you  two  girls  get  to  correspond- 
ing," he  said. 

"  Yes,  Mr.  Maynard,"  said  Gladys.  "  Mar- 
jorie  and  I  are  both  going  to  write  every  week, 
and  I'm  going  to  send  her  flowers  by  mail." 

"  Well,  don't  send  any  live  rattlesnakes  or  Gila 
monsters  in  the  mail.  They  might  starve  on  the 
way." 

"  I'd  rather  they'd  starve  on  the  way  than  reach 
here  alive,"  said  Marjorie,  with  a  little  shudder. 


THE  GOING  OF  GLADYS  77 

"  Do  they  have  those  things  where  you're  going, 
Glad?  " 

"  I  don't  know.  Isn't  it  strange  to  be  going 
to  live  in  a  place  that  you  don't  know  anything 
about?" 

"  It's  strange  to  have  you  live  anywhere  but  in 
Rockwell,"  said  Marjorie,  and  Gladys  squeezed  her 
hand  under  the  table. 

But  at  last  the  time  came  for  the  real  fare- 
wells. 

"  Cut  it  short,"  cried  Mr.  Maynard,  gaily, 
though  there  was  a  lump  in  his  own  throat  as 
Gladys  and  Marjorie  threw  their  arms  about  each 
other's  neck  for  the  last  time. 

The  Fultons  were  to  leave  very  early  the  next 
morning,  and  the  girls  would  not  meet  again. 

Both  were  sobbing,  and  Dick  and  Kingdon  stood 
by,  truly  distressed  at  their  sisters'  grief. 

"  Come,  dearie,  let  Gladys  go  now,"  said  Mrs. 
.Maynard,  for  knowing  Marjorie's  excitable  na- 
ture, she  feared  these  paroxysms  of  tears. 

"  No,  no !  she  shan't  go ! "  Midge  almost 
screamed,  and  Gladys  was  also  in  a  state  of  con- 
vulsive weeping. 

Mr.  Maynard  went  to  Marjorie,  and  laid  his 
big,  cool  hand  on  her  brow. 


78  MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

"  My  little  girl,"  he  whispered  in  her  ear, 
"  father  wants  you  to  be  brave  now" 

Midget  look  up  into  his  dear,  kind  eyes,  and 
then,  with  a  truly  brave  effort  she  conquered 
herself. 

"  I  will,  Father,"  she  whispered  back,  and  then, 
with  one  last  embrace,  she  said,  "  Good-bye, 
Gladys,  dear  Gladys,  good-bye." 

She  let  her  go,  and  Dick  took  his  sister's  arm 
in  silence,  and  they  went  away. 

Both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Maynard  were  somewhat 
shaken  by  the  children's  tragedy,  but  neither 
thought  it  wise  to  show  it. 

"  Now,  Mopsy  Moppet,"  said  her  father, 
"  what  do  you  think  I  have  here?  " 

He  took  a  parcel  from  the  mantel,  and  held 
it  up. 

"  I  don't  know,"  said  Midge,  trying  to  smile ; 
"what  is  it?" 

"  Well,  it's  a  game, — a  brand  new  game,  and 
none  of  }rour  poky  old  go-to-sleep  affairs  either. 
It's  a  lively,  wide-awake  game,  that  only  lively, 
wide-awake  children  can  play.  So  come  one,  come 
all!" 

They  all  gathered  round  the  table,  and  Mr. 
Maynard  explained  the  rules  of  the  new  game. 


THE  GOING  OF  GLADYS  79 

Marjorie  loved  games,  and  as  this  was  really  a 
most  interesting  one,  she  couldn't  help  enjoying  it, 
and  was  soon  absorbed  in  the  play.  It  combined 
the  elements  of  both  skill  and  chance,  and  caused 
many  moments  of  breathless  suspense,  as  one  or  an- 
other gained  or  lost  in  the  count. 

When  it  was  finished,  Marjorie  was  again  her 
own  rosy,  smiling  self,  and  though  she  still  felt 
the  vague  weight  of  sorrow,  she  had  spent  a 
pleasant,  enjoyable  hour. 

"  And  now  to  bed,  chickadees,"  cried  their 
father,  "  it's  long  past  nine !  " 

"  Is  it  really  ?  "  exclaimed  Midget,  "  how  the 
time  has  flown  !  " 

"  That's  because  you  were  my  own  brave  girl, 
and  tried  to  risa  above  misfortune,"  said  Mr. 
Maynard,  as  he  bade  her  good-night.  "  No  teary 
pillows  to-night,  girlie." 

"  No,  Father,  dear,  I  hope  not." 

"  Just  go  to  sleep,  and  dream  that  you  have 
a  few  friends  still  east  of  the  Rockies." 

"  More  than  I'll  ever  have  west  of  them,"  re- 
sponded Marjorie,  and  then  with  her  arm  round 
Kitty's  waist,  the  two  girls  went  upstairs  to 
bed. 

The  next  morning  at  the  breakfast  table,  Mr. 


80  MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

Maynard  made  a  sudden  and  unexpected  an- 
nouncement. 

"  Mother  Maynard,"  he  said,  "  if  you  can  spare 
your  eldest  daughter,  I  think  I'll  borrow  her  for 
the  day." 

"  What ! "  cried  Marjorie,  looking  up  in 
surprise. 

"  You  may  have  her,"  said  Mrs.  Maynard, 
smiling,  "  if  you'll  return  her  safely." 

"  Oh,  I  can't  promise  that.  I'm  of  rather 
careless  habits,  and  I  might  mislay  her  some- 
where." 

"  Well,  I'll  trust  you  for  this  once.  Mops,  do 
you  want  to  go  to  town  with  Father?  " 

Marjorie's  eyes  flashed  an  answer,  and  Kitty 
exclaimed : 

"Without  us?-" 

"  I  grieve  to  disappoint  you,  Kitsie,"  said  Mr. 
Maynard,  "  but  you  still  have  your  friend 
Dorothy.  Midget  is  cruelly  deprived  of  her 
chum,  and  so  for  one  day  she  is  going  to  put  up 
with  a  doddering  old  gentleman  instead.  Get 
your  bonnet  and  shawl,  my  child." 

Marjorie  looked  at  her  mother  for  confirmation 
of  this  good  news,  and  receiving  an  answering 
smile,  she  excused  herself  from  the  table  and  ran 


THE  GOING  OF  GLADYS  81 

away  to  her  room.  Nannie  helped  her,  and  soon 
she  tripped  downstairs  prettily  dressed  in  a  dark 
blue  cloth  frock  and  jacket,  a  blue  felt  hat,  and 
her  Christmas  furs. 

"  Whew !  what  a  fine  lady ! "  said  her  father. 
"  I  shall  have  to  don  my  best  hat  and  feathers,  I 
think."  ;. 

"  I've  lost  my  chum,  too,"  said  King,  as  he 
watched  the  pair  about  to  start. 

"  Yes,  you  have,  my  boy,  but  he  wasn't  your 
*  perfectly  darling  confidential  friend,'  as  girls' 
chums  are !  Moreover,  you  haven't  shed  such  gal- 
lons of  first-class  well-salted  tears  as  this  young 
person  has.  No,  Son,  I'm  sorry  to  leave  you  be- 
hind, but  you  didn't  weep  and  wail  loud  enough !  " 

King  had  to  laugh  at  the  way  his  father  put  it, 
but  he  well  knew  Marjorie  was  given  a  day's 
pleasure  to  divert  her  mind  from  Gladys's  de- 
parture, and  he  didn't  begrudge  his  sister  the 
trip. 

"We  must  be  extra  kind  to  old  Midge,  Kit," 
he  said,  as  Marjorie  and  her  father  walked  briskly 
down  the  drive. 

"  Yes,"  said  Kitty,  earnestly,  "  she  does  feel 
awful  about  losing  Gladys.  I'm  going  to  make 
fudge  for  her,  while  she's  gone  to-day." 


S2  MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

"  I  wish  I  could  do  something  for  her.  Boys 
are  no  good !  " 

"  You  are  too !  "  cried  loyal  little  Kitty.  "  You 
can  help  her  with  her  arithmetic  every  night.  She 
can  do  it  all  right,  if  she  has  a  little  help,  and 
Glad  used  to  help  her  a  lot." 

"  Good  for  you,  Kitsie !  of  course  I  will.  Dear 
old  Midge,  I'm  terrible  sorry  for  her." 

Meantime,  Marjorie,  by  her  father's  side,  was 
rushing  along  in  the  train  to  New  York. 

While  Mr.  Maynard  read  his  paper,  he  glanced 
sometimes  at  his  daughter,  and  rejoiced  that  she 
was  interestedly  gazing  out  of  the  window  at  the 
flying  scenery. 

Occasionally,  she  turned  and  smiled  at  him,  but 
she  said  little,  and  he  knew  she  was  being  brave 
and  trying  not  to  think  too  much  about  her  loss. 

Gladys  had  gone  away  early  and  when  they 
had  passed  the  closed  and  deserted-looking  Fulton 
house,  Marjorie  had  swallowed  hard  and  looked  the 
other  way. 

But  once  in  New  York,  the  child  had  no  time  to 
think  of  anything  but  the  present  hour,  so  full 
of  joy  was  the  whole  day. 

"  My  time  is  yours,"  announced  Mr.  Maynard, 
as  they  reached  the  city.  "  I've  telephoned  to  the 


THE  GOING  OF  GLADYS  88 

office  that  I  won't  be  there  at  all  to-day,  so  what 
shall  we  do?  " 

"  Oh,  Father,  a  whole  Ourday,  all  for  you 
and  me?"  Marjorie's  eyes  danced  at  this  un- 
heard of  experience. 

"  Yes,  Midget ;  partly  because  I'm  sorry  for 
my  troubled  little  girl,  and  partly  because  you 
are  bearing  your  trouble  bravely  and  cheer- 
fully." 

"  Who  wouldn't  be  cheerful,  with  a  whole  Our- 
day, and  a  whole  father,  all  to  myself ! " 

"  Well,  you'll  probably  never  have  another, 
alone  with  me.  So  make  the  most  of  it.  Where 
shall  we  go  first?  " 

"  Oh,  I  don't  know ;  it's  all  so  lovely." 

"  Then  I'll  choose.     Step  this  way,  Madame." 

This  way,  was  toward  a  line  of  waiting  taxicabs, 
and  Mr.  Maynard  engaged  one,  and  handed  Mar- 
jorie  in. 

"  A  taxy  ride !  Oh,  lovely !  "  she  cried,  as  they 
started  off  at  a  fine  pace. 

On  they  went,  spinning  across  town,  till  they 
reached  Fifth  Avenue,  and  turned  up  that  broad 
thoroughfare. 

Marjorie  enjoyed  every  minute,  and  looked  out 
of  the  open  window  at  the  bustling  city  life  all 


84  MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

about.  Up  town  they  went  for  blocks  and  blocks, 
and  stopped  at  the  Metropolitan  Art  Museum. 

They  went  in  here,  after  Mr.  Maynard  had  dis- 
missed the  cab,  and  staid  the  rest  of  the  morning. 

Marjorie,  perhaps,  would  not  have  cared  so 
much  for  the  pictures  and  statues  had  she  been 
alone;  but  her  father  called  her  attention  to  cer- 
tain ones,  and  told  her  about  them  in  such  a  way, 
that  she  was  amused  and  instructed  both. 

They  looked  at  strange  and  curious  relics  of 
ancient  times ;  they  studied  the  small  models  of  the 
world's  greatest  buildings;  and  they  lingered  in 
the  hall  full  of  casts  of  the  noblest  statues  of  all 
time. 

"  Hungry,  Chickadee  ?  "  said  Mr.  Maynard,  at 
last,  looking  at  his  watch. 

"  Why,  yes,  I  believe  I  am ;  but  I  hadn't  thought 
of  it." 

"  I'm  glad  you  are,  for  I  can  assure  you  I  am. 
Suppose  we  make  a  mad  dash  for  a  pie-shop." 

"  Come  on,"  said  Marjorie,  and  away  they  went, 
through  the  turnstiles,  and  out  upon  Fifth  Avenue 
again. 

Mr.  Maynard  hailed  a  motor-omnibus,  and 
Marjorie  carefully  climbed  the  spiral  staircase  at 
the  back.  Her  father  followed,  and  sitting  up  on 


THE  GOING  OF  GLADYS  85 

top  of  the  'bus,  in  the  crisp,  wintry  air  and  bright 
sunshine,  they  went  whizzing  down  the  avenue. 

"Isn't  it  fun,  Father!"  said  Marjorie,  as  she 
held  tightly  to  his  arm. 

"  Yes,  and  there's  a  fine  view  to-day."  He 
pointed  out  many  famous  buildings,  and  when 
they  neared  a  large  hotel,  he  said: 

"  We'll  have  to  get  out,  Midge.  I  shall  pine 
away  with  hunger  before  another  block." 

"  Out  we  go ! "  was  the  reply,  and  they 
clambered  down  the  twisty  stair. 

"  Is  there  anything  that  would  tempt  your  ap- 
petite, Miss  Maynard? "  said  her  father,  as, 
seated  nt  a  small  round  table,  he  looked  over  the 
menu. 

*'  No,  thank  you ;  I  don't  think  I  can  eat  a 
thing ! "  said  Midge,  dropping  her  eyes,  and  try- 
ing to  look  fragile  and  delicate. 

"  No?  But  really,  you  must  try  to  taste  of 
something.  Say,  the  left  wing  of  a  butterfly,  with 
hard  sauce." 

This  made  Marjorie  laugh,  and  she  said,  "  I 
couldn't  eat  it  all,  but  I  might  nibble  at  it." 

Then  what  Mr.  Maynard  really  did,  was  to 
order  Marjorie's  favourite  dishes. 

First,  they  had  grape-fruit,  all  cut  in  bits,  and 


86  MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

piled  up  in  dainty,  long-stemmed  glasses.  Then, 
they  had  a  soft,  thick  soup,  and  then  sweetbreads 
with  mushrooms. 

"  You're  not  to  get  ill,  you  know,"  said  Mr. 
Maynard,  as  Marjorie  showed  a  surprising  ap- 
petite, "  but  I  do  v/ant  you  to  have  whatever  you 
like  to-day." 

"  Oh,  I  won't  get  ill,"  declared  Marjorie,  gaily, 
"  and  now,  may  I  select  the  ice  cream  ?  " 

"  Yes,  if  you  won't  ask  for  plum  pudding  also." 

"  No,  but  I  do  want  little  cakes,  iced  all  over. 
Pink  and  green  and  white  and  yellow  ones." 

These  were  allowed,  and  Marjorie  blissfully  kept 
on  nibbling  them,  while  Mr.  Maynard  sipped  his 
coffee.  In  the  afternoon  they  went  to  a  matinee. 
It  was  one  of  the  gorgeous  spectacular  produc- 
tions, founded  upon  an  old  fairy  tale,  and  Mar- 
jorie was  enraptured  with  the  beautiful  tableaux, 
the  wonderful  scenery,  and  the  gay  music. 

"  Oh,  Father,"  she  said,  "  aren't  we  having  the 
gorgeousest  time!  You  are  the  beautifulest  man 
in  the  whole  world !  " 

After  the  performance,  Mr.  Maynard  spoke  of 
going  home,  but  Marjorie's  eyes  held  a  mute  ap- 
peal, which  he  could  not  resist. 

"  Ice  cream  again!  "  he  said,  though  she  had 


THE  GOING  OF  GLADYS  87 

not  spoken  the  words.  "  Well,  ice  cream  it  is,  then, 
but  no  rich  cakes  this  time.  I  promised  Motherdy 
I'd  bring  you  home  safe  and  sound.  But  I'll  tefl 
you,  we'll  buy  some  of  those  cakes  to  take  home, 
and  you  may  have  them  to-morrow." 

"  And  Kitty  and  King,  too,"  said  Midge. 
"  And  let's  take  them  some  buttercups." 

So  the  candy  and  cakes  were  bought  and  carried 
home  by  two  tired  but  very  happy  people,  and 
Marjorie  fully  appreciated  the  lovely  day  her 
father  had  given  her,  because  of  Gladys's  going 
away. 

"  And  I  will  be  good  and  brave,"  she  resolved 
to  herself,  on  her  way  home  in  the  train.  "  I'm 
going  to  try  to  be  just  as  cheerful  and  pleasant  as 
if  Gladys  hadn't  gone  away  at  all,  but  was  ia  her 
own  house,  across  the  street." 


CHAPTER  VII 

THE    COMING    OF    DELIGHT 

BUT  though  Marjorie  made  her  brave  resolutions 
in  good  faith,  it  was  hard  to  keep  them.  School 
was  awful.  The  very  sight  of  Gladys's  empty 
seat  made  Midge  choke  with  tears. 

Miss  Lawrence  appreciated  the  case,  and  was 
most  gentle  and  kind  to  Marjorie,  but  still  the 
trouble  was  there. 

"  Wouldn't  you  like  to  have  Katy  Black  sit 
with  you,  dear?  "  asked  the  teacher. 

"  No,  thank  you,"  said  Midge,  "  I  can't  beai 
to  put  any  one  in  Gladys's  place.  Don't  bother 
about  me,  Miss  Lawrence,  I'm  not  going  to  cry." 

She  didn't  cry,  but  she  sighed  so  frequently  and 
so  deeply,  that  kind-hearted  Miss  Lawrence  al- 
most wept  in  sympathy. 

At  home  it  was  better.  The  Maynards  always 
had  good  times  at  home,  and  of  course  when  there, 
Marjorie  didn't  miss  Gladys  so  much.  But  the 
long  mornings  in  the  school-room,  and  the  long 

88 


THE  COMING  OF  DELIGHT  89 

afternoons  when  she  wanted  to  run  over  to 
Gladys's  house  were  almost  unbearable. 

Merry,  madcap  Midget  became  a  sober-faced 
little  girl,  who  was  all  the  more  pathetic  because 
she  tried  to  be  cheerful. 

Mrs.  Maynard  felt  worried  about  the  matter, 
and  proposed  to  her  husband  that  she  should  take 
Marjorie,  and  go  away  for  a  trip  somewhere. 

"  No,"  said  Mr.  Maynard ;  "  let  her  fight  it  out. 
It's  hard  for  her,  but  it's  doing  her  real  good,  and 
bringing  out  the  best  side  of  her  nature.  We'll 
all  help  her  all  we  can,  and  if  I'm  not  greatly  mis- 
taken our  Marjorie  will  come  out  of  this  ordeal 
with  flying  colors." 

"  It's  will-power,  little  daughter,"  said  Mr. 
Maynard  to  her  one  evening.  "  Just  determine 
that  this  cloud  shall  not  entirely  obscure  the  sun 
for  you." 

"Yes,"  said  Midge,  smiling,  "it's  just  an 
eclipse,  isn't  it?  " 

"  Yes,  and  it  seems  to  be  a  total  eclipse ;  but 
even  total  eclipses  pass,  if  we  wait  long  enough. 
Any  letter  from  Gladys  this  week?  " 

"  One  came  this  morning.  Would  you  like  to 
read  it?" 

"  Of  course  I  should,  very  much." 


90  MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

"  It's  strange,"  said  Marjorie,  as  she  produced 
the  letter,  "  for  all  Gladys  loves  school  so,  and 
is  a  good  student,  she  can't  seem  to  spell  right." 

"  I  know  another  lady  who  has  difficulty  in  that 
direction,"  said  Mr.  Maynard,  smiling. 

"  Yes,  but  Glad  is  different.  She  can  spell  the 
spelling-book  stickers,  *  embarrassed,'  and  '  elee- 
mosynary,' and  such  words,  'cause  she  studies 
them;  and  then  she'll  misspell  simple  every-day 
words.  Now,  you  see." 

Mr.  Maynard  smiled  a  little  as  he  read  the 
letter. 

Los  Angeles,  Col. 
DEAR  MARJORIE: 

We  are  having  a  lovely  time.  We  have  not 
found  a  house  yet,  but  are  staying  at  the  hotell 
till  we  do  find  one  to  suite  us.  I  like  it  here  very 
much.  I  miss  you  very  much,  dear  Marjorie. 
There  are  lovely  people  in  the  hotell,  and  we  go 
for  walks  to  pick  flowers.  The  flowers  here  are 
beautiful.  Now  I  must  close.  With  lots  of  love 
and  kisses,  your  LoviN6  GLADYS. 

"  Between  you  and  me  and  the  post,  Midget,  I 
don't  think  that's  a  very  interesting  letter,  do 
you?  " 


THE  COMING  OF  DELIGHT          91 

"  No,  Father,  I  don't.  I  thought  Glad  would 
write  more  as  she  talks.  She  doesn't  talk  a  bit 
like  that,  when  we're  together." 

"  I  know  it,  Mops,  I've  heard  her.  But  some 
people  never  can  write  as  they  talk.  As  soon 
as  they  get  a  pen  between  their  fingers,  their 
brain  seems  to  freeze  up,  and  break  off  in  little, 
cold,  hard  sentences.  Now,  what  sort  of  a  letter 
do  you  write  ?  " 

"  Here's  the  answer  I  wrote  to-day  to  Gladys. 
I  haven't  sent  it  yet." 

MY  DARLING  GLADYS: 

I  wish  you  would  come  back.  It's  perfectly 
horrid  at  school  without  you,  and  though  Miss 
Lawrence  said  Katy  Black  could  sit  with  me,  I 
don't  want  her.  She's  a  nice  enough  girl,  but 
she  isn't  you.  And  nobody  is,  Dear  old  Glad,  I 
do  miss  you  so.  Of  course  as  there's  no  remedy 
under  the  sun,  I'm  being  cheerful  and  gay  about 
it,  but  my  heart  misses  you  just  the  same.  We 
don't  have  the  Jinks  Club  any  more.  It  made  me 
sick  to  go  to  it  without  you.  I  expect  you're 
having  good  times  in  California,  and  I'm  glad  of 
that.  Write  soon  to 

YOUR  LOVING  MOPSY  MIDGET. 


92  MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

"  Now,  of  the  two,  Midge,  yours  is  the  much 
better  letter.  Don't  ever  try  to  copy  Gladys's 
style,  will  you?  " 

"  No ;  I'm  glad  you  like  mine  best.  You  see, 
I  write  without  thinking  about  anything  except 
not  to  spill  the  ink." 

"  A  very  good  plan.  Stick  to  it  all  your  life. 
Midget,  I  don't  want  to  be  unkind,  but  has  it 
struc^  you  that  Gladys  is  not  so  heart-broken  over 
your  separation  as  you  are?  " 

A  look  of  pain  came  into  Marjorie's  loyal  eyes, 
as  she  said: 

"  JL,  does  seem  so,  I  know.  But  I  think  it's  be- 
cause Gladys  has  all  sorts  of  new  places  and  new 
people  to  amuse  her,  while  I'm  left  here  alone." 

"  It's  partly  that,  little  girl ;  and  partly  because 
Gladys  hasn't  such  a  warm,  loving  loyal  heart  as 
my  Marjorie's." 

"  She  is  different,"  admitted  Midget ;  "  but  I 
know  she  loves  me,  even  if  it  doesn't  say  so  right 
out  in  her  letter." 

"  Perhaps  she  forgot  to  put  it  in,  because  she 
was  so  busy  trying  not  to  spill  the  ink." 

"  Perhaps  so,"  agreed  Marjorie,  answering  the 
twinkle  in  her  father's  eye. 

"  And  now,  Miss  Mops,  I  have  a  bit  of  news 


THE  COMING  OF  DELIGHT          93 

for  you.  The  Fulton  house  is  rented  to  some 
people  from  New  York." 

"  Is  it?  "  said  Marjorie,  indifferently. 

"  And  in  the  family  is  a  girl  twelve  years  of 
age." 

"  And  you  think  she'll  take  Glad's  place !  "  cried 
Midge,  indignantly.  "  Well,  I  can  just  tell  you 
she  won't!  A  girl  from  New  York!  She'll  be 
stuck-up,  and  superior,  and  look  down  on  us 
Rockwell  girls ! " 

"  How  do  you  know  all  this  ?  " 

"  I  know ;  'cause  Katy  Black  had  a  girl  from 
New  York  visiting  her,  and  she  was  just  horrid! 
All  stiff  and  mincy,  and  dropping  curtseys  every 
two  minutes !  " 

"  But  you're  taught  to  drop  curtseys." 

"  Yes,  when  I  enter  or  leave  a  room  where  there 
are  ladies,  but  that  girl  was  always  at  it,  in 
school  and  everywhere." 

"  Sort  of  a  jumping-jack,  wasn't  she?  Well, 
try  to  like  this  new  girl,  dearie;  it's  the  best  I 
can  do  for  you  in  the  way  of  neighbors." 

"  Oh,  I  may  like  her, — and  I'll  be  polite  to  her, 
of  course;  but  I  know  I  shan't  want  her  for  an 
intimate  friend,  like  Glad." 

"Perhaps  not;  but  I  was  so  pleased  when  I 


94  MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

heard  a  little  girl  was  coming  to  live  across  the 
street,  that  I  think  you  ought  to  be  pleased  too." 

"Well,  I  will!  I  am!  And  if  she  isn't  too 
stuck-up,  I'll  try  to  like  her." 

A  few  afternoons  later,  King,  who  was  sitting 
by  a  front  window,  called  out: 

"  Hi !  I  say,  Mops !  Here's  the  new  family 
moving  into  the  Fulton  house ! " 

Marjorie  only  upset  a  waste-basket  and  a  very 
small  table  as  she  ran  to  the  window  to  look  out. 

Kitty  raced  after  her,  and  Rosy  Posy  toddled 
up  too,  so  in  a  moment  the  four  were  eagerly 
gazing  at  the  new-comers,  themselves  quite  hid- 
den by  the  lace  curtains. 

"  Nice  looking  bunch,"  commented  King,  as  he 
watched  a  well-dressed  lady  and  gentleman  get 
out  of  the  carriage. 

"  And  there's  the  girl ! "  cried  Marjorie,  as  a 
child  followed  them.  "Oh,  she  is  a  stuck-up!" 

"  How  do  you  know?  "  said  King.  "  I  think 
she's  a  daisy !  " 

They  could  only  see  her  back,  as  the  new  neigh- 
bor walked  up  the  path  to  the  house,  but  she 
seemed  to  be  of  a  dainty,  not  to  say  finicky  type. 

She  wore  a  large  hat  with  feathers,  and  a  black 
velvet  coat  that  covered  her  frock  completely. 


THE  COMING  OF  DELIGHT  95 

A  mass  of  fluffy  golden  hair  hung  below  the  big 
black  hat,  and  the  little  girl  tripped  along  in  a  way 
that  if  not  "  mincing,"  was  certainly  "  citified." 

"  No,  I  don't  like  her,"  declared  Midge,  as  she 
watched  the  stranger  go  up  the  steps  and  into  the 
house ;  "  she  isn't  a  bit  like  Gladys." 

"  Neither  am  I,"  said  King,  "  but  you  like  me.'* 

"  Yes,  you  dear,  cunning  little  sweet  thing,  I  do 
like  you,"  said  Midget,  touching  King's  hair  in  a 
teasing  way. 

He  promptly  pulled  off  her  hair-ribbon,  and  as 
Marjorie  felt  in  the  humor,  this  began  one  of  their 
favorite  games  of  make-believe. 

"  The  diamond  tiara !  "  she  shrieked,  "  the  vil- 
lian  hath  stole  it !  " 

"  Horrors ! "  cried  Kitty,  "  then  shall  he  be 
captured,  and  forced  to  restore  it !  " 

She  pounced  on  King,  and  aided  by  Marjorie, 
they  threw  him  on  the  couch,  and  wrapped  his  head 
in  the  afghan.  Horrible  growls  came  from  the 
prisoner,  but  no  word  of  surrender. 

"Art  vanquished?"  asked  Kitty  pulling  the 
afghan  away  from  one  of  his  eyes. 

"  I  art  not !  "  he  declared  in  a  muffled  voice,  but 
with  so  terrific  a  glare  from  that  one  eye,  that  they 
hastily  covered  him  up  again. 


96  MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

But  he  managed  to  free  himself,  and  stood 
towering  above  the  terror-stricken  girls,  who  now 
knelt  at  his  feet  and  begged  for  mercy. 

"  Spare  us ! "  moaned  Kit.  "  We  are  but 
lorn  damsels  who  seek  food  and  shelter ! " 

"  Me  wants  a  selter,  too,"  announced  Rosy 
Posy,  joining  the  others,  and  clasping  her  little  fat 
hands  as  they  did.  "  What  is  a  selter?  " 

"  A  selter  for  none  of  you ! "  roared  King, 
with  threatening  gestures.  "  To  the  dungeon, 
all  three!  Ha,  varlets,  appear,  and  do  my  bid- 
ding!" 

"  I'll  be  a  varlet,"  said  Midge,  suddenly  chang- 
ing her  role.  "  We'll  put  Lady  Katherine  in  the 
dungeon,  and  let  the  fair  Lady  Rosamond  go 
free ! " 

"  As  thou  sayest,"  said  King,  agreeably,  and 
though  bravely  resisting,  Kitty  was  overpowered, 
and  thrown  into  a  dungeon  under  the  table. 
From  this  she  contrived  to  escape  by  the  clever 
expedient  of  creeping  out  at  the  other  side,  but  as 
it  was  then  time  to  get  ready  for  dinner,  the  game 
came  to  an  untimely  end. 

"  We've  seen  the  new  girl,  Father,"  said  Mar- 
jorie,  as  they  sat  at  the  table. 

"  Have  you  ?     Well,  I've  seen  the  new  man, — 


THE  COMING  OF  DELIGHT          97 

that  is,  if  you  refer  to  our  new  neighbors  across 
the  street." 

"  Yes,  in  Gladys's  house.  What's  his  name, 
Father?" 

"  Mr.  Spencer.  I  met  him  at  the  post-office, 
and  Mr.  Gage  introduced  us.  Mr.  Gage  is  the 
agent  who  has  the  Fulton  house  in  charge,  and  he 
told  me  before  that  these  newcomers  are  fine  peo- 
ple. I  liked  Mr.  Spencer  exceedingly.  I'm  sorry, 
Mops,  you're  so  determined  not  to  like  the  daugh- 
ter. Mr.  Spencer  tells  me  she's  a  lovable  child." 

"  Oh,  of  course  he'd  think  so, — he's  her  father." 

"  Well,  I  admit,  fathers  are  a  prejudiced  class. 
Perhaps  I  have  too  high  an  opinion  of  my  own 
brood." 

"  You  couldn't  have,"  said  Kitty,  calmly,  and 
Mr.  Maynard  laughed  as  he  looked  at  the  four 
smiling  faces,  and  responded: 

"  I  don't  believe  I  could  !  " 

"  Don't  spoil  them,  Fred,"  said  Mrs.  Maynard, 
warningly,  but  King  broke  in : 

"  Too  late,  Mother !  We're  spoiled  already. 
Father's  high  opinion  of  us  has  made  us  puffed  up 
and  conceited." 

"  Nonsense,  King,"  cried  Midge ;  "  we're  not 
conceited.  Not  nearly  as  much  so  as  that  girl 


98  MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

across  the  way.  You  ought  to  see,  Father,  how 
she  hopped  up  the  walk!  Like  a  scornful  grass- 
hopper ! " 

"  Marjorie,"  said  Mrs.  Maynard,  repressing  a 
smile,  "  you  must  not  criticise  people  so ;  especially 
those  you  don't  know." 

"  Well,  she  did,  Mother.  She  thinks  because 
she  came  from  New  York,  Rockwell  people  are  no 
good  at  all." 

"  How  do  you  know  that,  Midge  ?  "  said  -  her 
father,  a  little  gravely. 

"  Oh,  Midget  is  a  reader  of  character,"  said 
King.  "  She  only  saw  this  girl's  yellow  hair 
hanging  down  her  back,  and  she  knew  all  about  her 
at  once." 

"  She  had  a  velvet  coat,"  protested  Marjorie, 
"  and  a  short  dress  and  long  black  legs " 

"  You  wouldn't  want  her  to  wear  a  train,  would 
you  ?  "  put  in  Kitty. 

"  No,  but  her  frock  was  awful  short,  and  her  hat 
was  piled  with  feathers." 

"  That  will  do,  Marjorie,"  said  her  father,  very 
decidedly,  now.  "  It  isn't  nice  to  run  on  like  that 
about  some  one  you've  never  met." 

"  But  I'm  just  telling  what  I  saw,  Father." 

"  But  not  in  a  kind  spirit,  my  child.     You're 


THE  COMING  OF  DELIGHT          99 

trying  to  make  the  little  girl  appear  unattractive, 
or  even  ridiculous;  and  you  must  not  do  that.  It 
isn't  kind." 

"That's  so,"  said  Marjorie,  contritely;  "it's 
horrid  of  me,  I  know,  and  I'll  stop  it.  But  she  did 
look  like  a  flyaway  jib !  " 

"  What  is  a  flyaway  jib?  "  said  her  father,  with 
an  air  of  one  seeking  information. 

"  I  haven't  an  idea,"  said  Mops,  laughing ;  "  but 
I  know  I've  heard  of  it  somewhere." 

"  And  so  you  describe  a  girl  whom  you  don't 
know,  in  words  whose  meaning  you  don't  know! 
Well,  that's  consistent,  at  any  rate!  Now,  I  do 
know  something  about  this  young  lady.  And,  to 
begin  with,  I  know  her  name." 

"  Oh,  what  is  it  ?  "  said  Midge  and  Kitty  to- 
gether. 

"  Well,  Mops  is  such  a  reader  of  character,  she 
ought  to  be  able  to  guess  her  name.  What  do  you 
think  it  is,  Midget?" 

Marjorie  considered.  She  dearly  loved  to 
guess,  even  when  she  had  no  hint  to  go  by. 

"  I  think,"  she  said,  slowly,  "  it  is  probably 
Arabella  or  Araminta." 

"  'Way  off,"  said  her  father ;  "  you're  no  good 
«.t  guessing.  Kitty,  what  do  you  say  ?  " 


100         MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

"  It  ought  to  be  Seraphina,"  said  Kitty, 
promptly.  "  She  looks  like  a  wax  doll." 

"Wrong  again!     King,  want  to  guess?" 

"  'Course  I  do.  I  think  her  name  is  Flossy 
Flouncy.  She  looks  so  dressy  and  gay." 

"  That's  a  good  name,  King,"  said  Marjorie, 
"  and  just  suits  her.  I  shall  call  her  that,  what- 
ever her  real  name  is.  I  suppose  it's  Mary  Jane, 
or  something  not  a  bit  like  her.  What  is  it, 
Father?" 

"  Well,  it's  not  a  common  name,  exactly.  It's 
Delight." 

"Delight!"  cried  King.  "What  a  funny 
name !  I  never  heard  of  it  before." 

"  I  think  it's  lovely,"  declared  Marjorie.  "  It's 
a  beautiful  name.  Why  didn't  you  name  me  De- 
light, Mother?  " 

"  You  didn't  say  you  wanted  me  to,"  returned 
Mrs.  Maynard,  smiling,  for  Marjorie  often  wished 
for  various  names  that  pleased  her  better  than  her 
own  for  the  moment. 

"  Well,  I  think  it's  sweet,  don't  you,  Kit?  " 

"  Beautiful !  "  said  Kitty,  enthusiastically. 

"  And  she's  not  at  all  *  stuck-up,'  "  went  on  Mr. 
Maynard ;  "  she's  rather  shy,  and  though  she 
wants  to  get  acquainted  with  you  children,  she's 


THE  COMING  OF  DELIGHT         101 

afraid  you  won't  like  her.  I  didn't  tell  Mr. 
Spencer  that  you  had  decided  already  not  to  like 
her." 

"  I  like  her  name,"  said  Marjorie,  "  but  I  don't 
like  her  because  she  lives  in  Gladys's  house,  and  she 
isn't  Gladys ! " 

"  So  that's  where  the  shoe  pinches ! "  said  Mr. 
Maynard,  laughing  at  Marjorie's  troubled  face. 
"  A  foolish  resentment  because  strangers  are  in 
your  friend's  home.  Why,  dearie,  Mr.  Fulton  was 
most  anxious  to  rent  the  house,  and  he'll  be  glad  to 
have  such  good  tenants.  And,  by  the  way,  Midge, 
don't  say  anything  more  unpleasant  about  the  lit- 
tle Spencer  girl.  You've  said  enough." 

"  I  won't,  Father,"  said  Midget,  with  an  honest 
glance  from  her  big,  dark  eyes  into  his  own,  for 
truth  to  tell,  she  felt  a  little  ashamed  of  her  foolish 
criticisms  already. 

"  Delight !  "  she  said,  musingly  as  she  and  Kitty 
were  preparing  for  bed  that  night.  "  Isn't  it  a 
dear  name,  Kit?  What  does  it  make  you  think 
of?" 

"  A  princess,"  said  Kitty,  whose  imagination 
was  always  in  fine  working  order ;  "  one  who 
always  wears  light  blue  velvet  robes,  and  eats  off  of 
gold  dishes." 


102         MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

"  Yes,"  agreed  Marjorie,  falling  in  with  the 
game,  "  and  she  has  white  doves  fluttering  about, 
and  black  slaves  to  bow  before  her." 

"  No,  not  black  slaves ;  they're  for  princesses 
named  Ermengarde  or  Fantasmagoria."  Kitty 
was  not  always  particular  about  any  authority  for 
names,  if  they  sounded  well.  "  A  princess  named 
Delight  would  have  handmaidens, — fair-haired 
ones,  with  soft  trailing  white  robes.!' 

"  Kit,  you're  a  wonder."  said  Marjorie,  staring 
at  her  younger  sister ;  "  how  do  you  know  such 
things?" 

"  They  come  to  me,"  said  Kitty,  mystically. 

"  Well,  they  sound  all  right,  but  I  don't  believe 
handmaidens  ought  to  wear  trailing  gowns.  How 
could  they  handmaid?  " 

"  That's  so,"  said  Kitty,  a  little  crestfallen. 

"  Never  mind ;  I  spect  they  could.  They  could 
gracefully  throw  the  trails  over  their  arms,  as  they 
glide  along  in  their  sandalled  feet." 

"  Yes,  and  strains  of  music  came  from  concealed 
luters " 

"  Huh !  looters  are  burglars,  and  it's  slang 
besides." 

*'  No,  not  that  kind.  Luters  that  play  on  lutes, 
I  mean.  And  the  Princess  Delight  would  sniff 


THE  COMING  OF  DELIGHT        103 

attar  of  rose,  and  fan  herself  with  waving  peacock 
feathers." 

"  A  slave  ought  to  do  that." 

"  Well,  all  right,  let  him.  And  then  the  Prin- 
cess falls  asleep  'neath  her  silken  coverlet,  and  lets 
her  sister  put  out  the  lights, — like  this  !  "  and  with 
a  jump,  Kitty  bounced  into  her  own  little  bed,  and 
pulled  up  the  down  coverlet  to  her  chin. 

Imitating  the  white-robed  handmaidens,  Mar- 
jorie  swayed  around  to  an  improvised  chant  of  her 
own,  and  putting  out  the  electric  lights  with  much 
dramatic  elaboration,  she  finally  swayed  into  her 
own  bed,  and  after  they  had  both  chanted  a  choric 
good-night,  they  soon  fell  sleep. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

i 

A    VISIT    TO    CINDERELLA 

ONE  afternoon  Marjorie  sat  by  the  fire  read- 
ing. She  was  not  specially  interested  in  her  book, 
but  Kitty  had  gone  to  see  Dorothy  Adams,  and 
King  was  off  somewhere,  so  she  had  no  one  to  play 
with. 

Presently  Sarah  entered. 

"  There's  somebody  wants  you  on  the  telephone, 
Miss  Marjorie,"  she  said,  and  Midget  jumped  up, 
wondering  who  it  could  be. 

"  Hello,"  she  said,  as  she  took  the  receiver. 

"  Hello,"  said  a  pleasant  voice ;  "  is  this  Mar- 
jorie Maynard?  " 

"Yes;  who  is  this?" 

"  This  is  Cinderella." 

"Who!" 

"  Cinderella.  My  two  stepsisters  have  gone  to 
a  ball,  and  my  cruel  stepmother  has  beaten  me  and 
Starved  me " 

"  What  are  you  talking  about  ?  Who  is  this, 
please  ? " 

104 


A  VISIT  TO  CINDERELLA          105 

"  Me.  I'm  Cinderella.  And  I'm  so  lonely 
and  sad  I  thought  perhaps  you'd  come  over  to  see 
me." 

A  light  began  to  dawn  on  Marjorie. 

"  Oh,"  she  continued,  "  where  do  you  live?  " 

"  Across  the  street  from  your  house." 

"  Then  you're  Delight  Spencer." 

"  Yes,  I  am.  Can't  you  come  over  and  let's  get 
acquainted?  " 

"  Yes,  I  will.     I'd  like  to.     Shall  I  come  now?  " 

"  Yes,  right  away.     Good-bye." 

"  Good-bye." 

Marjorie  hung  up  the  receiver  and  after  a  hasty 
brush  at  her  curls,  and  a  few  pinches  at  her  hair 
ribbons,  she  flung  on  hat  and  coat  and  flew  across 
the  street. 

If  only  this  new  girl  should  be  a  desirable  chum ! 

That  opening  about  Cinderella  sounded  hopeful, 
— she  must  know  how  to  play. 

Well,  at  any  rate,  Midget  would  soon  know  now. 

She  rang  the  bell  at  Gladys's  house,  with  a  queer 
feeling,  and  as  she  went  in,  and  saw  the  familiar 
rooms  and  furniture,  and  no  Gladys,  she  almost 
started  to  run  away  again 

"  Miss  Delight  wants  you  to  come  right  up  to 
her  room,  Miss,"  said  the  maid  who  admitted  her, 


106         MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

and  Marjorie  followed  her  upstairs,  glad  to  find 
that  at  least  the  new  girl  didn't  have  Gladys's  room 
for  her  own.  The  maid  indicated  the  room,  and 
stood  aside  for  Marjorie  to  enter,  but  at  the  first 
glance  Midget  stood  still  on  the  threshold. 

In  the  first  place  the  room  was  transformed.  It 
had  been  the  Fultons'  playroom,  and  furnished 
rather  plainly;  but  now  it  was  so  full  of  all  sorts 
of  things,  that  it  looked  like  a  bazaar. 

In  a  big  armchair  sat  Delight.  She  had  on  a 
Japanese  quilted  kimona  of  light  blue  silk,  and 
little  blue  Turkish  slippers.  Her  hair  was  pure 
golden,  and  was  just  a  tangle  of  fluffy  curls 
topped  by  a  huge  blue  bow. 

But  her  face,  Marjorie  thought  at  once,  was  the 
most  beautiful  face  she  had  ever  seen.  Big  blue 
eyes,  a  soft  pink  and  white  complexion,  and  red 
lips  smiling  over  little  white  teeth,  made  Delight 
look  like  the  pictures  on  Marjorie's  fairy  calendar. 

And  yet,  as  Midget  stood  for  a  moment,  looking 
at  her,  the  pink  faded  from  her  cheeks,  and  she 
rose  from  her  chair,  and  said,  stiffly: 

"  Sit  down,  won't  you?     I'm  glad  you  came." 

Marjorie  sat  down,  on  the  edge  of  a  couch,  and 
Delight  sank  back  in  her  big  chair. 

She  was  so  evidently  overcome  with  a  spasm  of 


A  VISIT  TO  CINDERELLA          107 

shyness  that  Midget  was  sorry  for  her,  but  some- 
how it  made  her  feel  shy,  herself,  and  the  two  little 
girls  sat  there,  looking  at  each  other,  without  say- 
ing a  word. 

At  last,  overcoming  her  embarrassment,  Mar- 
jorie  said,  "  Was  it  you  who  telephoned?  "  A 
sudden  wave  of  red  flooded  Delight's  pale  cheeks, 
and  she  answered: 

"  Yes,  it  was.  I  have  a  cold,  and  can't  go  out 
of  my  room, — and  mother  is  out, — and — and  I 
was  awfully  lonesome,  so  I  played  I  was  Cinderella. 
And  then  I  just  happened  to  think  I'd  telephone 
you — just  for  fun 

"  Have  you  a  stepmother  ?  Is  she  cruel  to 
you?" 

"  Mercy,  no !  Mother  is  the  dearest  thing  in 
the  world,  and  she  adores  me, — spoils  me,  in  fact. 
She's  gone  out  now  to  get  me  some  things  to  make 
valentines  with.  But  I  wish  she  was  here.  I 
thought  it  would  be  fun  to  see, — to  see  you  alone, 
— but  you're  so  different  from  what  I  thought  you 
were." 

"  Different,  how  ?  "  said  Midget,  forgetting  her 
own  shyness  in  her  interest  in  this  strange  girl. 

"  Why,  you're  so — so  big,  and  rosy, — and  your 
eyes  snap  so." 


108          MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

"  You're  afraid  of  me ! "  exclaimed  Midget, 
laughing  merrily. 

"  I'm  not  when  you  laugh  like  that ! "  returned 
Delight,  who  was  beginning  to  feel  more  at  ease. 

"  Well,  I  was  afraid  of  you,  too,  at  first.  You 
looked  so — so,  breakable,  you  know." 

"Delicate?" 

"  Yes,  fragile.  Like  those  pretty  spun  sugar 
things." 

"  I  am  delicate.  At  least,  mother  says  I  am.  I 
hate  to  romp  or  run,  and  I'm  afraid  of  people  who 
do  those  things." 

"  Well,  I'm  not  afraid  of  anybody  who  can  play 
she's  Cinderella  over  a  telephone!  I  love  to  run 
and  play  out-of-doors,  but  I  love  to  play  '  pretend 
games  '  too." 

"  So  do  I.  But  I  have  to  play  them  all  by  my- 
self. Except  sometimes  mother  plays  with  me." 

"  You  can  play  with  us.  We  all  play  pretend 
games.  Kitty's  best  at  it, — she's  my  sister.  And 
King — Kingdon,  my  brother,  is  grand." 

"  Take  off  your  things,  won't  you  ?  I  ought  to 
have  asked  you  before.  I  haven't  any  sense." 

Marjorie  jumped  up  and  threw  off  her  hat  and 
coat,  tossed  them  on  the  couch,  and  then  plumped 
herself  into  another  big  chair  near  Delight's. 


A  VISIT  TO  CINDERELLA          109 

The  children  were  indeed  a  contrast. 

Marjorie,  large  for  her  age,  full  of  hearty, 
healthy  life,  and  irrepressible  gayety  of  spirit, 
bounced  around  like  a  big,  good-natured  rubber 
ball.  Delight,  small,  slender,  and  not  very  strong, 
moved  always  gently  and  timidly. 

Marjorie,  too,  was  dark-haired,  dark-eyed,  and 
rosy-cheeked;  while  Delight  was  of  lovely  blonde 
type,  and  her  pale  blue  robe  suited  her,  as  Midget's 
crimson  cashmere  set  off  her  own  vivid  coloring. 

The  ice  fairly  broken,  the  little  girls  forgot 
their  shyness,  and  acquaintance  progressed  rapidly. 

"  Have  you  always  lived  in  New  York?  "  asked 
Midget. 

"  Yes ;  but  I'm  so  delicate  mother  thinks  this 
place  will  be  better  for  me.  Do  you  like  it 
here?" 

"  Why,  yes.  But  I've  always  lived  here,  you 
know.  Are  you  going  to  school?  " 

"  No ;  I  never  go  to  school.  It  makes  me  nerv- 
ous. I  always  have  a  governess  at  home." 

"  Oh,  how  lovely !  I'd  give  anything  if  I  could 
study  that  way.  Isn't  it  fun  ?  " 

"  Oh,  no ;  it's  so  lonely.  I'd  ever  so  much  rather 
go  to  school  and  be  in  a  class.  But  I  always  faint 
in  a  schoolroom." 


HO         MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

"  I  don't  faint, — I  don't  know  how.  I  wish  I 
did,  I'd  try  it,  and  then  Miss  Lawrence  would  have 
to  send  me  home.  Where  are  you  in  arithmetic  ?  " 

"  Partial  Payments ;  but  I'm  reviewing.  Where 
are  you?  " 

"  Cube  root,  and  I  hate  it." 

"  So  do  I.     How  do  you  like  my  room  ?  " 

"  It's  splendid.  But  I  can't  take  it  all  in  at 
once." 

Marjorie  jumped  up  and  walked  round  the 
room,  stopping  to  look  at  the  aquarium,  the  black- 
board, the  gramophone,  and  many  other  modes  of 
entertainment  which  had  been  collected  to  give 
Delight  pleasure. 

"  Yes,  I  love  my  things.  I  have  so  many,  and 
father  is  always  bringing  me  new  ones.  That's  to 
make  up  for  my  being  an  only  child.  I  often  beg 
mother  to  adopt  a  sister  for  me." 

"  I'll  be  your  sister,"  said  Midget,  in  a  sudden 
heartfelt  burst  of  sympathy  for  the  lonely  little 
girl. 

"  Oh,  will  you?  "  she  said,  wistfully;  "  and  come 
and  live  with  me?  " 

"No,  not  that,"  laughed  Marjorie;  "but  we'll 
play  we're  sisters,  and  you  can  call  my  brother  and 
sisters  yours  too." 


A  VISIT  TO  CINDERELLA          111 

"  I'm  glad  I  came  to  Rockwell,"  said  Delight, 
with  happy  eyes ;  "  I  think  you're  splendid." 

"  And  I  think  you're  lovely.  I  hope  we'll  get 
along.  Do  you  squabble?" 

"  I  don't  think  so,"  replied  Delight,  doubtf ully ; 
"  you  see,  I  never  had  a  chance." 

"  I  don't  believe  you  do.  I  hate  it,  myself ;  but 
lots  of  the  girls  think  it's  fun  to  get  mad  at  each 
other,  and  stay  mad  a  few  weeks  and  then  make 
up." 

"  How  silly !     You're  not  like  that,  are  you  ?  " 

"  No,  I'm  not.  I  had  a  friend  who  used  to  live 
in  this  very  house,  and  we  never  have  been  mad  at 
each  other  in  our  lives.  That's  why  I  didn't  say 
I'd  be  your  friend.  It  seems  sort  of — kind 
of " 

"Yes,  I  see,"  said  Delight,  gently.  "You're 
awfully  loyal,  aren't  you?  Well,  I'd  rather  be 
your  sister,  anyway, — your  play-sister." 

"  I'll  be  your  step-sister,"  said  Midget,  remem- 
bering Cinderella.  "  Not  the  cross  kind." 

"  No,  the  pleasant  kind.  All  right,  we'll  be 
step-sisters,  and  will  you  come  to  see  me  often  ?  " 

"  Yes,  and  you  must  come  over  to  my  house." 

"  I  will,  when  mother'll  let  me.  She  hates  to 
have  me  go  anywhere." 


112         MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

"  Do  you  know,"  said  Midget,  in  a  spirit  of  con- 
trition, "  I  thought  you  were  '  stuck-up.' ' 

Delight  sighed  a  little.  "  Everybody  thinks 
that,"  she  said,  "  just  because  I  don't  go  to  school, 
and  so  I  don't  get  acquainted  much.  But  I'm  not 
stuck-up." 

"  Indeed  you're  not,  and  I  shall  tell  all  the  girls 
so.  But  after  your  cold  gets  well,  you  can  go 
out  doors  to  play,  can't  you?  " 

"  I  don't  know.  Mother  never  lets  me  go  out 
much,  except  with  her.  Oh,  here  comes  mother 
now ! " 

Mrs.  Spencer  came  into  the  room  and  smiled 
pleasantly  at  Midget. 

Delight  introduced  them,  and  Mar j  one  rose  and 
curtseyed,  then  Mrs.  Spencer  said: 

"  I'm  glad  you  came,  my  dear  child.  I  meant 
to  ask  you  soon,  as  I  want  you  and  Delight  to  be 
great  friends." 

Mrs.  Spencer  was  an  attractive-looking  lady 
and  spoke  cordially,  but  somehow  Marjorie  didn't 
fancy  her. 

There  was  no  tangible  reason,  for  she  was 
charming  and  gracious,  but  Midget  felt  she  was  a 
nervous,  fussy  woman,  and  not  calm  and  capable 
like  her  own  dear  mother. 


A  VISIT  TO  CINDERELLA          113 

"  My  mother  is  coming  to  call  on  you,"  said 
Marjorie  to  her  hostess.  "  I  heard  her  say  so. 
She  doesn't  know  I'm  here,  for  she  wasn't  at  home 
when  I  came,  but  I  know  she'll  be  pleased  when  I 
tell  her." 

"  Did  you  come  away  without  mother's  permis- 
sion? Naughty!  Naughty!"  said  Mrs.  Spencer* 
playfully  shaking  her  finger  at  Marjorie. 

Midget's  eyes  opened  wide.  "  Of  course,  I 
shouldn't  have  come,"  she  said,  "  if  I  hadn't  known 
she  would  be  willing."  She  resented  Mrs.  Spencer's 
reproof,  as  that  lady  knew  nothing  of  the  circum- 
stances, and  besides,  Marjorie  was  always  allowed 
to  do  as  she  chose  afternoons,  within  certain  well- 
understood  restrictions. 

But  Mrs.  Spencer  had  brought  several  interest- 
ing-looking parcels,  and  all  else  was  forgotten  in 
the  examination  of  their  contents. 

They  proved  to  contain  gold  and  silver  paper, 
lace  paper,  small  pictures,  crepe  paper,  cards,  rib- 
bons, paste,  and  lots  of  other  things. 

Marjorie's  eyes  sparkled  as  she  saw  the  lovely 
things  tumbled  out  on  a  low  table  which  Mrs. 
Spencer  drew  up  in  front  of  the  girls.  "  For 
valentines  ? "  she  exclaimed,  as  she  realized  the 
possibilities. 


114 

"  Yes;  will  you  help  Delight  to  make  them?  " 

"  Indeed,  I  will,  Mrs.  Spencer ;  but  not  now. 
It's  five  o'clock,  and  I  have  to  go  home  at 
five." 

"  Dear,  dear,  little  girls  that  run  away  without 
mother's  permission  oughtn't  to  be  so  particular 
about  going  home  on  time." 

Marjorie  was  puzzled.  Mrs.  Spencer  didn't  see 
the  matter  rightly,  she  was  sure,  and  yet  to  ex- 
plain it  to  her  seemed  like  correcting  a  grown-up 
lady,  which,  of  course,  was  impolite.  So  she  only 
smiled,  and  said  she  must  go  home,  but  she  would 
be  glad  to  come  again. 

To  her  surprise,  Delight  began  to  cry, — not 
noisily, — but  with  quiet,  steady  weeping,  that 
seemed  to  imply  a  determination  to  keep  it 
up. 

Marjorie  looked  her  amazement,  which  was  not 
lessened  when  Mrs.  Spencer  said,  almost  coldly: 

"  I  should  think  she  would  cry,  poor,  dear  sick 
child,  when  her  little  friend  refuses  to  stay  with 
hir." 

"  But,  Mrs.  Spencer,"  said  Midget,  really  dis- 
tressed, now,  "  it  is  our  rule  always  to  go  home  at 
five  o'clock,  unless  mother  has  said  we  could  stay 
later.  So  I  have  to  go." 


A  VISIT  TO  CINDERELLA          115 

"  Very  well,  then,  go  on,"  said  Mrs.  Spencer,  a 
little  pettishly;  but  she  helped  Marjorie  on  with 
her  coat,  and  patted  her  on  the  shoulder. 

"  You're  a  good  little  girl,"  she  said,  "  and  I 
suppose  I'm  selfish  where  Delight  is  concerned. 
Will  you  come  again  to-morrow  morning?  " 

"  Oh,  no,  thank  you ;  I  have  to  go  to  school." 

"  Yes,  I  suppose  you  do.  Well,  come  to-morrow 
afternoon." 

"  Yes,  do,"  said  Delight,  staying  her  tears,  as 
they  seemed  to  do  no  good. 

"  I'll  see  about  it,"  said  Midget,  a  little  be- 
wildered by  these  emotional  people.  "  I'd  like  to 
come." 

She  said  her  good-byes,  and  flew  across  the  street 
to  her  own  home. 

She  flung  to  the  front  door  behind  her,  with 
what  was  almost  a  bang,  and  then  throwing  her 
coat  and  hat  on  the  hall  rack,  she  burst  into  the 
living-room,  where  Mrs.  Maynard  was  sitting  with 
Rosy  Posy  in  her  lap. 

"  Marjorie,"  her  mother  said,  as  she  observed  the 
impulsive  child,  "  you  are  just  a  shade  too  noisy. 
Will  you  kindly  go  back  to  the  hall,  and  try  to 
enter  this  room  in  a  manner  more  becoming  to  a 
lady  and  a  Maynard  ?  " 


116         MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

"  I  will,  indeed,  Mother.  And  you're  quite 
right ;  I  was  awful  racketty." 

Marjorie  returned  to  the  hall,  and  then  came  in 
with  graceful,  mincing  steps,  purposely  overdoing 
the  scene.  She  paused  in  front  of  her  mother, 
dropped  an  elaborate  curtsey,  and  holding  out  her 
hand  daintily,  said : 

"  Good-evening,  Mrs.  Maynard ;  are  you  at 
home?  " 

"  I  am,  you  silly  child,"  said  her  mother,  kissing 
her  affectionately,  "  and  overdone  manners  are 
much  better  than  no  manners  at  all." 

"  Yes'm ;  and  what  do  you  think,  Mother  ?  I've 
been  over  to  see  Delight  Spencer." 

"  You  have?  Why,  I  meant  to  take  you  when 
I  go  to  call.  How  did  you  happen  to  go?  " 

So  Marjorie  told  the  story  of  the  telephoning, 
adding :  "  And  you  know,  Mother,  you  always  used 
to  let  me  go  to  Gladys's  without  asking  you,  so  J 
went.  Wasn't  it  all  right?  " 

Marjorie  looked  so  disturbed  that  Mrs.  May 
nard  smiled,  and  said : 

"  Why,  I  suppose  there's  no  harm  done, — since 
the  little  girl  asked  you  to  come ' 

Marjorie  looked  greatly  relieved.  "  Well,"  she 
said,  "  Mrs.  Spencer  thought  it  was  awful  for  me 


A  VISIT  TO  CINDERELLA          117 

to  go  without  asking  you, — and  then, — she  wanted 
me  to  stay  after  five  o'clock,  and  was  madder  'n 
hops  'cause  I  didn't !  " 

"What  a  remarkable  lady!  But  I  can  judge 
better  if  you  tell  me  the  whole  story." 

So  Marjorie  told  all  about  the  afternoon,  and 
Mrs.  Maynard  was  greatly  interested. 

"  Not  exactly  stuck-up,  is  she,  Midget  ?  "  said 
King,  who  had  come  in  during  the  recital. 

"  No,"  owned  up  Marjorie.  "  I  was  mistaken 
about  that;  and  I  think  I'd  like  her  a  lot,  if  she 
wasn't  the  crying  kind.  I  do  hate  cry  babies." 

"  Ho !    You  wept  oceans  when  Glad  went  away." 

"  Yes,"  retorted  Marjorie,  unabashed,  "  but 
that's  very  different.  I  don't  burst  into  weeps 
just  because  a  next-door  neighbor  is  going 
home ! " 

"  'Deed  you  don't,  old  girl !  You're  a  brick,  and 
I  was  a  meany  to  say  what  I  did.  But  perhaps 
Delight  doesn't  cry  so  much  when  she's  well." 

"  She's  never  well.  I  mean  she's  delicate  and 
frail  and  always  having  colds  and  things." 

"  Pooh,  a  nice  sort  of  girl  for  you  to  play  with ! 
You're  as  hardy  as  an  Indian." 

"  I  know  it.     We  all  are." 

**  She  probably  stays  in  the  house  too  much," 


118         MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

said  Mrs.  Maynard.  "  If  you  children  can  per- 
suade her  to  go  out  of  doors  and  romp  with  you, 
she'll  soon  get  stronger." 

"  She  says  she  hates  to  romp,"  observed  Mar- 
jorie. 

"  Then  I  give  her  up !  "  cried  King.  "  No  stay- 
in-the-house  girls  for  me.  Say,  what  do  you 
think,  Mops !  A  straw-ride  to-morrow  afternoon ! 
Mr.  Adams  is  going  to  take  a  big  sleigh-load  of 
us !  Isn't  that  gay !  " 

"Fine!"  cried  Marjorie,  the  delicate  Delight 
quite  forgotten  for  the  moment,  "  tell  me  all  about 
it!" 


CHAPTER  IX 

A    STRAW-BIDE 

"THEN,  mother,"  said  Marjorie,  as  she  started 
for  school  next  morning,  "  you'll  call  on  Mrs. 
Spencer  this  morning  and  ask  her  to  let  Delight 
go  on  the  straw-ride  with  us  this  afternoon.  Will 
you,  Mother,  will  you  ?  " 

"  Yes,  my  Midget,  I  told  you  I  would.  But  I 
doubt  if  she'll  let  the  little  girl  go." 

"  So  do  I,  but  you  coax  her.  Good-bye, 
Mother." 

With  a  kiss  and  a  squeeze,  Marjorie  was  off, 
swinging  a  strap-full  of  books  till  they  all  tumbled 
on  the  ground,  and  then  picking  them  up  again. 

"  I'll  help  you,  Mops,"  said  King,  who  had  fol- 
lowed her  down  the  path.  "  What  a  tumble-bug 
you  are ! " 

"  Yes,  I  am.  Say,  King,  do  you  believe  De- 
light will  go  with  us  ?  " 

"  Don't  know  and  don't  care.  She's  a  Flossy 
Flouncy,  anyway.  Too  dressy  and  fiddle-de-dee 
for  me !  " 

119 


120         MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

"  Oh,  you  don't  know  her.  I  think  she's  going 
to  be  real  nice." 

"  All  right.  You  can  have  her.  Hi !  there's 
Bunny  Black ;  let's  run." 

Run  they  did,  and  Marjorie  flew  over  the 
ground  quite  as  fast  as  Kingdon  did. 

"  Hey,  Bunny,  wait  a  minute !  "  So  Bunny 
waited,  and  then  all  three  trudged  on  to  school, 
Marjorie  in  the  middle,  while  they  talked  over  the 
fun  of  the  coming  sleigh-ride. 

Mr.  Adams,  who  was  the  father  of  Dorothy, 
Kitty's  chum,  took  the  young  people  on  a  straw- 
ride  every  winter,  if  the  sleighing  happened  to  b» 
good  just  at  the  right  time. 

The  trip  was  always  made  out  to  Ash  Grove,  the 
pleasant  farm  home  of  Mr.  Adams'  aunt,  and  the 
old  lady  heartily  welcomed  the  crowd  of  laughing 
children  that  invaded  her  quiet  abode. 

After  school,  Marjorie  and  King  and  Kitty  ran 
home  to  eat  a  hearty  luncheon,  and  get  ready  for* 
the  great  event. 

It  was  a  perfect  winter  day;  crisp,  clear 
air,  bright  sunshine,  fine  sleighing,  and  no 
wind. 

"  Mothery,"  called  Marjorie,  as  she  entered  the 
house,  "  where  are  you?  " 


A  STRAW-RIDE  121 

"  Here  I  am,  dear,  in  the  library.  Don't  come 
in  like  a  whirlwind." 

"  No'm.  I'll  come  in  like  a  gentle  summer 
breeze,"  and  Midget  tripped  lightly  in,  waving  her 
skirts  as  she  side-stepped,  and  greeting  her  mother 
Vith  a  low  bow. 

"What  about  Delight?"  she  asked,  at  once, 
u  can  she  go?  " 

"  Yes,  she's  going,"  answered  Mrs.  Maynard, 
"  but  I  don't  think  her  mother  wants  her  to  go  very 
much.  I  went  over  there  this  morning,  and  after 
making  my  call  on  the  lady,  I  delivered  the  invita- 
tion for  the  daughter.  Delight  was  most  anxious 
to  go,  and  coaxed  her  mother  so  hard,  that  Mrs. 
Spencer  finally  said  yes,  though  I'm  sure  it  was 
against  her  will." 

"  Is  Delight's  cold  well?  " 

"  I  think  so,  or  her  mother  wouldn't  let  her  go. 
She'll  be  more  or  less  in  your  charge,  Marjorie, 
so  do  look  after  her,  and  don't  be  thoughtless  and 
heedless." 

"  How  do  you  like  Mrs.  Spencer,  Mother?  " 

"  She's  a  very  pleasant  lady,  my  dear,  and  De- 
light is  a  beautiful  child." 

**  Yes,  isn't  she  pretty !  I'm  so  glad  she's  going 
with  us/' 


122         MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

The  straw-ride  was  of  the  real  old-fashione4 
sort. 

A  big  box-sleigh,  well  filled  with  clean  straw, 
and  with  plenty  of  warm  robes,  made  a  cosy  nest 
for  a  dozen  laughing  children. 

Except  for  Delight,  the  Maynards  were  the  last 
ones  to  be  picked  up,  and  when  the  jingling  sleigh- 
bells  and  the  chorus  of  voices  was  heard,  they 
ran  out  and  were  gaily  greeted  by  the  others. 

"  Hop  in,  Kitty ;  here,  I'll  help  you.  In  you  go, 
Midget !  "  and  genial  Mr.  Adams  jumped  the  girls 
in,  while  King  climbed  over  the  side  by  himself. 
Then  Mr.  Adams  went  back  to  his  seat  beside  the 
driver,  and  they  crossed  the  street  to  call  for  De- 
light. 

She  was  watching  at  the  window,  and  came  out 
as  the  sleigh  drove  up. 

She  was  so  bundled  up  in  wraps  and  scarfs  and 
veils,  that  they  could  scarcely  see  her  face  at  all, 
but  Marjorie  introduced  her  to  the  others,  and 
then  Delight  cuddled  down  in  the  straw  close  to 
Marjorie's  side. 

"  Isn't  it  strange?  "  she  whispered.  "  I  never 
saw  a  sleigh  before  without  seats  in  it.  Won't  we 
fall  out?" 

"  No,     indeed ! "     answered     King,     heartily ; 


A  STRAW-RIDE  123 

**  that's  just  what  we  won't  do.  Unless  when  we 
strike  a  bump." 

Just  then  they  did  "  strike  a  bump,"  and  De- 
light was  almost  frightened  at  the  jounce  she  re» 
ceived. 

"  Oh,"  she  exclaimed,  "  it — it  takes  your  breath 
away, — but — but  I  think  it's  very  nice." 

'*  Plucky  girl !  "  said  King,  and  as  that  was  the 
highest  compliment  he  could  pay  a  girl,  Marjorie 
felt  a  thrill  of  pleasure  that  King  was  going  to 
like  Delight  after  all. 

"  I  think  you'd  like  it  better  without  that  awful 
thick  veil  over  your  face,"  King  went  on.  "  You 
can't  see  the  snow  through  that,  can  you?  " 

"  No,  I  can't,"  said  Delight,  and  she  pulled  off 
her  veil,  leaving  her  roseleaf  face,  with  its  crown 
of  golden  curls  exposed  to  view.  A  hood  of  white 
swansdown  was  tied  under  her  chin  with  white 
ribbons,  and  her  smile,  though  shy,  was  very 
sweet. 

"  That's  better ! "  cried  King,  approvingly. 
"  Now  we  can  see  what  you  say.  Whoo-oo ! !  " 

King  blew  a  sudden  blast  on  a  tin  horn  which  he 
drew  from  his  pocket,  and  as  all  the  boys  in  the 
sleigh,  and  some  of  the  girls  did  the  same,  the  noise 
was  deafening. 


124         MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

Delight  looked  startled,  and  no  wonder,  but 
Marjorie  reassured  her  by  saying: 

"  Don't  let  that  scare  you.  It's  the  signal  that 
we've  crossed  the  city  limits.  They  always  toot 
when  we  cross  the  line.  I  don't,  'cause  I  hate  to 
blow  a  horn,  and  anyway,  there's  noise  enough 
without  me." 

*'  I  should  say  there  was ! "  said  Delight,  for  the 
boys  were  still  tooting  now  and  then,  and  there 
was  gay  laughter  and  shouting. 

"  Haven't  you  ever  been  on  a  straw-ride  be- 
fore? "  asked  Ethel  Frost,  who  sat  the  other  side 
of  Delight. 

"  No,  I  never  have.  I've  always  lived  in  the 
city." 

"  Stuck-up ! "  thought  Ethel,  but  she  said  noth- 
ing. It  was  a  peculiar  but  deep-seated  notion 
among  the  Rockwell  children,  that  any  one  from 
the  city  would  look  down  on  them  and  their  simple 
pleasures,  and  they  foolishly,  but  none  the  less 
strongly  resented  it. 

And  so,  poor  Delight  had  unwittingly  said  the 
worst  thing  she  could  say  by  way  of  her  own  in- 
troduction. 

"  Do  you  like  the  city  best?  "  said  Harry  Frost, 
virho  sat  opposite  the  girls. 


A  STRAW-RIDE  125 

"  I  don't  know  yet,"  said  Delight,  honestly ; 
M  it's  all  so  different  here." 

This  was  not  helping  matters,  and  Harry  only 
said  "  Huh !  "  and  turned  to  talk  to  King. 

Ethel,  too,  seemed  uninterested  in  the  city  girl, 
and  as  Marjorie  felt  herself,  in  a  way,  responsible 
for  the  little  stranger,  she  spoke  up,  loyally: 

"  Of  course  she  can't  tell  yet,  but  of  course  she 
will  like  Rockwell  as  soon  as  she  gets  more  used  to 
it,  and  if  she  doesn't  like  the  Rockwell  boys  and 
girls,  it'll  be  their  own  fault.  So  there,  now !  " 

"  I  do  like  them,"  said  Delight,  with  her  shy 
little  smile ;  "  and  I  think  I  can  get  used  to  those 
awful  horns  that  they  blow." 

"  Good  for  you,  Flossy  Flouncy ! "  cried  King, 
and  the  nickname  so  suited  the  pretty,  dainty  little 
girl,  that  it  clung  to  her  ever  after. 

But  though  she  tried,  Delight  couldn't  seem  to 
adopt  the  ways  of  the  other  children.  They  were 
a  hearty,  rollicking  crowd,  full  of  good-natured 
chaff,  and  boisterous  nonsense,  and  Delight,  who 
had  lived  much  alone,  was  bewildered  at  their  noise 
and  fun. 

But  she  slipped  her  hand  from  her  pretty  white 
muff,  and  tucked  it  into  Marjorie's,  who  gave  her  a 
squeeze  that  meant  sympathy  and  encouragement. 


126         MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

Midget  was  beginning  to  realize  that  the  more 
she  saw  of  Delight,  the  better  she  liked  her.  And 
the  brave  way  in  which  the  little  girl  met  the  cool- 
ness and  indifference  that  were  shown  her,  roused 
Marjorie's  sense  of  justice,  and  she  at  once  began 
to  stand  up  for  her. 

And  when  Marjorie  Maynard  stood  up  for  any- 
body, it  meant  a  great  deal  to  the  youthful  popula- 
tion of  Rockwell.  For  Midget  was  a  general  fav- 
orite, and  since  Gladys  was  gone  there  were 
several  girls  who  would  gladly  have  stepped  into 
her  place  in  Marjorie's  affections.  They  had 
begged  to  share  her  desk  at  school,  but  Midget 
didn't  want  any  one  to  do  that,  so  she  still  sat 
alone  each  day. 

And  now,  she  had  this  new  girl  under  her  wing, 
and  she  was  beginning  to  make  it  felt  that  she  was 
Delight's  champion,  and  the  others  could  act  ac- 
cordingly. 

"  Do  you  like  coasting?  "  said  Ethel  Frost,  as 
they  passed  a  fine  hill  dotted  with  boys  and  girls 
and  sleds. 

"  Yes,  I  love  it !  "  replied  Delight,  her  blue  eye? 
sparkling  as  she  watched  the  sleds  fly  down- 
hill. 

"  Why,  Flossy  Flouncy  ]  "   cried  King ;  "  you 


A  STRAW-RIDE  127 

couldn't  go  coasting!     I  don't  believe  you've  ever 
tried  it !  " 

"  I  never  did  but  once,"  said  Delight,  "  and  then, 
the  hill  wasn't  very  good,  but  it  was  fun.  I'd  love 
to  go  on  a  hill  like  that." 

"  Would  your  mother  let  you?  "  said  Marjorie, 
doubtfully. 

"  No,  I  don't  believe  she  would.  But  I'd  coax 
her  till  she  had  to." 

«  That's  right,"  said  King.  «  We'll  go  to-mor- 
row, and  then  you'll  see  what  real  coasting  is." 

It  was  not  a  very  long  ride  to  their  destination, 
and  at  last  the  sleigh  turned  in  at  a  farm  entrance 
and  passed  through  a  long  winding  avenue  of  trees 
to  the  house. 

It  was  an  old  yellow  farmhouse,  big  and  capa- 
cious, and  in  the  doorway  stood  a  smiling-faced 
little  old  lady  awaiting  them. 

This  was  Miss  Adams,  Dorothy's  grand-aunt, 
and  called  Auntie  Adams  by  all  the  children  who 
visited  her.  They  all  tumbled  out  of  the  sleigh, 
and  ran  laughing  into  the  house. 

Each  was  greeted  by  Miss  Adams,  and  cries  of 
"  Where's  Ponto?  "  and  "  Oh,  here's  Polly!  "  and 
"  Hello,  Tabby,"  were  heard. 

"  This  is  Delight  Spencer,"  said  Marjorie,  as 


128         MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

she  presented  her  to  Miss  Adams ;  "  she's  a  new 
friend  of  mine,  and  Mr.  Adams  said  I  iright  bring 
her." 

"  I'm  very  glad  to  see  you,  my  dear,"  said  Miss 
Adams,  kissing  the  wistful  little  face ;  "  you  are 
welcome  to  the  old  farm." 

"  I've  never  seen  a  farmhouse  before,"  said  De- 
light, as  she  glanced  round  at  the  old  mahogany 
furniture  and  brass  candlesticks  shining  in  the  fire- 
light from  the  big  fireplace ;  "  and,  oh,  isn't  it 
beautiful ! " 

Miss  Adams  was  much  pleased  at  this  honest 
compliment  to  her  old  home,  and  she  patted  De- 
light's shoulder,  as  she  said :  "  I'm  sure  we  shall  be 
great  friends,  you  and  I.  Run  away  now,  with 
Marjorie,  and  lay  off  your  wraps  in  the  north  bed- 
room." 

The  girls  went  up  the  short  turning  staircase, 
and  into  a  quaint  old-fashioned  bedroom,  with 
four-poster  bed,  chintz  hangings,  and  fine  old 
carved  furniture. 

"  Isn't  it  strange  ?  "  said  Delight,  looking  about. 
"  I  suppose  the  ladies  who  used  to  live  here  are 
dead  and  gone.  I  mean,  the  old  ancestors  of  Miss 
Adams.  Let's  play  we're  them,  Marjorie.  You 
be  Priscilla  and  I'll  be  Abigail." 


A  STRAW-RIDE  129 

"  Not  very  pretty  names,"  said  Midget,  doubt 
fully. 

"  Oh,  yes,  they  are.  I'll  call  you  Prissy  and  you 
call  me  Abby.  I'll  be  knitting,  and  you  can  be 
spinning  on  that  spinning-wheel." 

The  others  had  gone  downstairs,  but  forgetting 
all  about  them,  Delight  sat  herself  stiffly  in  one  of 
the  high-backed  old  chairs,  and  knitted  industri- 
ously, with  invisible  yarn  and  only  her  own  slender 
little  fingers  for  needle*. 

Always  ready  for  make-believe  play  Marjorie 
sat  at  the  spinning-wheel, — on  the  wrong  side,  to 
be  sure,  but  that  didn't  matter. 

"  Are  you  going  to  the  ball  at  Squire  Hard- 
ing's?  "  said  Delight,  in  a  prim  voice. 

"  Yes,  that  I  am,"  said  Marjorie.  "  Half  the 
county  will  be  there.  I  shall  wear  my  blue  brocade, 
with  collar  of  pearls." 

"  How  fair  thou  wilt  look !  I  have  but  my 
crimson  taffeta  turned  and  made  over.  But  I  have 
a  new  wimple." 

"  What  is  a  wimple,  Delight?  " 

"  I  don't  know  exactly,  but  they  wore  them  once. 
We're  not  sisters  you  know,  I'm  just  calling  on 
you ;  I'm  quite  poor.  Ah,  Prissy,  I  would  I  could 
achieve  «  new  gown  for  the  b0.!!.  My  lady  Calvert 


130         MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 


be  there,  and  she  is  of  the  quality,  for- 
aooth." 

"Aye,  Abby,  but  thou  art  more  beautiful  in  thy 
ragged  garb,  than  she  in  her  stiff  satins." 

"  Sayest  thou  so?  Thou  dost  but  flatter.  But 
among  all  my  noble  ancestors,  the  Adamses,  there 
was  never  a  woman  aught  but  fair;  or  a  man 
aught  but  brave  !  " 

Delight  said  this  in  a  high,  stilted  voice,  and  as 
she  sat  primly  in  the  straight-backed  old  chair, 
knitting  away  at  nothing,  she  presented  a  funny, 
attractive  little  picture. 

Miss  Adams,  who  had  come  in  search  of  the 
girls,  paused  at  the  door,  and  heard  Delight's 
words. 

"  You  dear  child  !  "  she  cried  ;  "  you  dramatic 
small  person  !  What  are  you  two  doing  ?  " 

"  We  fell  to  playing,  Miss  Adams,"  said  Mar- 
jorie,  "  and  we  forgot  to  go  downstairs." 

"  We  couldn't  help  it,"  supplemented  Delight. 
"  This  old  room  and  dear  old  furniture  just  made 
me  think  I  really  was  a  Colonial  Dame,  so  we  played 
we  were." 

"  You're  a  treasure  !  "  said  Miss  Adams,  clasp*- 
ing  Delight  in  her  arms.  "  As  for  Midget,  here, 
she's  always  been  my  treasure,  too.  I  think  some 


A  STRAW-RIDE  131 

day  you  two  little  girls  must  come  and  visit  me, 
all  by  yourselves,  will  you?  " 

"  Yes,  indeed  we  will." 

"  But  now,  come  downstairs,  and  join  the  games 
down  there." 

Down  they  went,  and  found  the  gay  party  play- 
ing Fox  and  Geese. 

Marjorie  was  an  adaptable  nature,  and  equally 
well  pleased  with  any  game,  so  she  flung  herself 
into  the  circle,  and  ran  about  as  gaily  as  any  one. 
But  Delight  shrank  away  from  the  frolic,  and 
asked  to  be  allowed  to  look  on. 

"  No,  indeed,  Flossy  Flouncy ! "  cried  Harry 
Frost.  "  You  must  play  our  games,  if  you  want 
us  to  like  you.  Come  on,  we  won't  hurt  you." 

"  Come  on  in,  the  water's  fine ! "  called  King, 
and  Delight  reluctantly  took  the  place  assigned 
her. 

She  tried  to  do  as  the  others  did,  but  long 
practice  had  made  them  alert  and  skilful,  while  she 
was  inexperienced  at  such  sports.  She  became 
bewildered  at  the  quick  changes  of  position,  and 
as  a  result  was  soon  caught,  and  had  to  be  the 
"  Fox." 

Then  the  situation  was  hopeless,  for  it  was  im- 
possible for  Delight  to  catch  any  of  the  guick- 


18*         MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

witted  and  quick-moving  "  geese,"  who  darted  in 
and  out,  tapping  her  shoulder,  when  she  should 
have  tapped  theirs,  and  teasing  her  for  being  slow. 

They  were  not  intentionally  rude,  these  gay- 
spirited  young  people,  but  a  girl  who  couldn't  play 
Fox  and  Geese  seemed  to  them  a  justifiable  butt 
for  ridicule.  Determined  to  succeed,  Delight  ran 
from  one  to  another,  arriving  just  too  late  every 
time.  The  unfamiliar  exercise  wearied  her,  her 
cheeks  glowed  pink  with  mortification  at  her  re- 
peated failures,  and  her  breath  came  quickly,  but 
she  was  plucky  and  kept  up  her  brave  efforts. 

Kingdon  saw  this,  and  admired  the  spirit  she 
showed. 

"  Look  here,  Flossy  Flouncy,"  he  said,  not  un- 
kindly, "  you've  been  Fox  long  enough ;  now  I'll 
be  Fox,  and  you  sit  down  on  the  sofa  and  get 
rested." 

Delight  looked  at  him  gratefully,  and  without  a 
word  she  went  and  sat  on  the  sofa  and  Miss  Adams 
came  and  sat  by  her  and  put  her  arm  round  the 
trembling  child.  Soon  after  this,  the  game  was 
stopped  because  supper  was  announced. 

Delight  sat  between  Mar j one  and  King,  and 
though  she  ate  but  little  she  enjoyed  seeing  the 
delicious  country  viands  that  were  served. 


A  STRAW-RIDE 

.Little  chicken  pies,  a  whole  one  to  each  person ; 
flaky  biscuits,  and  golden  butter;  home-made  ice 
cream  and  many  sorts  of  home-made  cakes  and 
jellies  and  preserves.  The  hungry  children  dis- 
posed of  an  enormous  quantity  of  these  pleasant 
things,  but  Miss  Adams  was  not  surprised  at  their 
appetites,  for  this  was  an  annual  experience  with 
her. 

After  supper,  they  sang  songs.  Miss  Adams 
sat  at  her  old-fashioned  square  piano,  and  played 
some  well-known  songs  in  which  they  all  joined. 

"  I  heard  a  song  on  a  phonograph,  the  other 
day,"  said  Harry  Frost ;  "  it  was  about  a  bonnie 
lassie.  Do  you  know  that,  Miss  Adams  ?  " 

"  No,  dear  boy,  I  don't.  I'm  sorry.  Can't  you 
sing  it  without  the  piano?  " 

"  No,  I  don't  know  it.  But  I'd  like  to  hear  it 
again." 

"  I  know  it,"  said  Delight,  timidly.  "  If  jou 
want  me  to,  I'll  sing  it." 

She  looked  so  shy  and  sweet,  that  there  was 
nothing  forward  about  her  offer,  merely  a  desire 
to  please. 

"  Do,  my  dear,*  said  Miss  Adams,  giving  fcer 
place  to  the  child. 

Delight  sat  down  at  the  piano,  and  striking  * 


134         MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

few  chords,  began :  "  I  know  a  lassie,  a  bonnie,  bon- 
nie  lassie,"  and  sang  it  through  in  a  sweet,  childish 
voice. 

"  That's  it ! "  cried  Harry,  as  she  finished. 
"  Jiminy !  but  you're  a  singer,  all  right." 

There  was  much  applause,  and  requests  for  more 
songs,  but  Delight,  overcome  by  attracting  so 
much  attention,  turned  bashful  agaiH  and  couldn't 
be  persuaded  to  sing  any  more. 

However,  it  was  time  to  go  home,  so  they  all 
bundled  into  their  wraps  again,  and  clambered 
into  the  sleigh. 

Delight  was  quiet  all  the  way  home,  and  sat 
with  her  hand  clasped  close  in  Marjorie's. 

"  Good-night,"  she  whispered,  as  she  got  out  at 
her  own  house.  "  Good-night,  Marjorie  dear.  I 
thank  you  for  a  pleasant  time,  but  I  don't  believe 
I  want  to  go  again." 

"  Oh,  yes,  you  will,'*  Marjorie  whispered  back, 
M  Don't  be  so  easily  discouraged/' 


CHAPTER  X 

MAKING    VALENTINES 

"  Now,  what  do  you  think  of  a  girl  like  that  ?  " 
Marjorie  exclaimed,  as  she  finished  a  description 
of  Delight's  behavior  on  the  straw-ride. 

"  I  think  she's  a  little  lady,"  said  Mr.  Maynard, 
with  a  twinkle  of  amusement  in  his  eye,  "  and  she 
was  pretty  well  frightened  by  the  noisy  fun  of 
the  Rockwell  young  people." 

"  But,  Father,"  said  King,  "  we  didn't  do  any- 
thing wrong,  or  even  rude,  but  of  course,  you 
can't  go  on  a  straw-ride  and  sit  as  still  as  if  you 
were  in  church,  can  you?  " 

"  No,"  said  Mrs.  Maynard,  taking  up  King's 
cause;  "  children  are  meant  to  be  noisy,  especially 
on  a  sleighing  party.  But  I  wouldn't  worry 
about  the  little  Spencer  girl.  If  she  continues 
to  live  here,  she  can't  help  doing  as  you  young 
Romans  do,  after  a,  time." 

"  Ho ! "      cried      King.        "  Imagine      Flossy 
Flouncy  tumbling  around  like  our  Midget.     Hi, 
there,  sister,  you're  it !  " 
135 


156         MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

King  clapped  Marjorie  on  the  back  and  then 
ran  around  the  dining-table,  from  which  they  had 
all  just  risen. 

"  Kit's  it ! "  cried  Marjorie,  clapping  Kitty  in 
turn. 

"  Nope,  I  had  my  fingers  crossed,"  said  Kitty  ( 
exhibiting  her  twisted  digits,  and  calmly  walking 
out  of  the  room,  her  arm  through  her  father's. 

"  All  right,  I'll  catch  you,  King,"  and  Mar- 
jorie made  a  dive  for  him. 

He  was  wary,  and  just  as  she  nearly  touched 
him,  he  stooped  and  slid  under  the  table.  After 
him  went  Midget,  and  of  course,  scrambled  under 
just  as  King  dodged  up  on  the  other  side. 

Out  came  Marjorie,  flying  after  King,  who 
raced  up  the  front  stairs  and  down  the  back  ones, 
landing  in  the  kitchen  with  a.  wild  shriek  of, 
"Hide  me,  Ellen,  she's  after  me!" 

"  Arrah,  ye  bletherin'  childher ! "  cried  Ellen, 
"  ye're  enough  to  set  a  saint  crhazy  wid  yer  rally- 
poosin' !  In  there  wid  ye,  now !  " 

The  good-natured  Irishwoman  pushed  King  in  a 
small  cupboard,  and  stood  with  her  back  against 
the  door. 

"What'll  ye  have,  Miss  Marjorie?"  ske  said, 
as  Midget  rushed  in  half  a  minute  later. 


MAKING  VALENTINES  137 

"Where's  King?"  asked  Marjorie,  breathless 
and  panting. 

"  Masther  King,  is  it?  I  expict  he's  sthudyin* 
his  schoolbooks  like  the  little  gintleman  he  is. 
Shkip  out,  now,  Miss  Marjorie,  dear,  I  must  be 
doin'  me  work." 

"  All  right,  Ellen,  go  on  and  do  it.  Go  on 
now,  why  don't  you?  Why  don't  you,  Ellen? 
Do  you  have  to  stand  against  that  door  to  keep 
it  shut?" 

"  Yes,  Miss,  the, — the  lock  is  broke,  sure." 

"Oh,  is  it?  Well,  you  go  on  to  your  work, 
and  I'll  hold  the  door  shut  for  a  while." 

*'  Och,  I  cuddent  think  of  throublin'  ye,  Miss. 
Run  on,  now,  happen  yer  mother  is  wantin'  ye." 

"  Happen  she  isn't.  Scoot,  Ellen,  and  give  me 
a  chance  at  that  door." 

Unable  to  resist  Midget's  wheedling  glance,  the 
big  Irishwoman  moved  away  from  the  door,  and 
Marjorie  threw  it  open,  and  disclosed  King,  calmly 
sitting  on  a  flour  barrel. 

As  he  was  fairly  caught,  the  game  was  over, 
and  the  two,  with  intertwined  arms  rejoined  the 
family. 

"  Good  race  ?  "  said  Mr.  Maynard,  looking  at 
the  exhausted  runners. 


188         MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

"Fine!"  said  Marjorie.  "You  see,  Father, 
Delight  has  no  brothers  or  sisters,  so  hour  could 
she  be  very  racketty?  She  couldn't  play  tag 
with  her  mother  or  father,  could  she  ?  " 

"  I  think  you'd  play  tag  with  the  Pope  of 
Rome,  if  you  couldn't  get  any  one  else." 

"  That  would  be  rather  fun,"  said  Midget,  laugh- 
ing, "  only  I  s'pose  his  robes  and  things  would 
trip  him  up.  But  I  do  believe  he'd  like  it.  I 
don't  'spect  he  has  much  fun,  anyway.  Does 
he?" 

"  Not  of  that  sort,  probably.  But,  Midget 
mine,  there  are  other  sorts  of  fun  beside  tearing 
up  and  down  stairs  like  a  wild  Indian." 

"  Yes,  and  one  sort  is  playing  '  Authors ' ; 
come  on,  and  have  a  game,  will  you,  Father?  " 

"  I'll  give  you  half  an  hour,"  said  Mr.  May- 
nard,  looking  at  his  watch.  "  That's  all  I  can 
spare  for  my  wild  Indians  this  evening." 

"  Goody ! "  cried  Midget,  "  half  an  hour  is 
quite  a  lot.  Come  on,  King  and  Kit.  Will  you 
play,  Mother  ?  " 

"  Not  now,  I  have  some  things  I  must  attend 
to.  I'll  take  Father's  place  when  his  half-hour 
is  up." 

So  they  settled  down  to  "  Authors,"  which  was 


MAKING  VALENTINES  159 

one  of  their  favorite  games,  and  of  which  they 
never  tired.  "  Delight  would  like  this,"  said 
Marjorie,  as  she  took  a  trick;  "she's  fond  of 
quiet  games.  Mother,  may  I  go  over  to-morrow 
afternoon  and  make  valentines  with  her?  " 

"  Yes,  if  you  like,  dearie,"  replied  Mrs. 
Maynard. 

"  May  I  go,  too?  "  said  Kitty. 

"  No,  Kitty,  I  want  you  at  home  to-morrow. 
The  seamstress  will  be  cutting  your  new  frock, 
and  you  must  be  here  to  try  it  on  when  she  wants 
you." 

"  All  right,  Mother.  May  I  ask  Dorothy  here, 
then?" 

"  Yes,  if  you  like.  But  you  must  stay  in  the 
house." 

"  Yes'm,  we  will." 

The  Maynards  were  obedient  children,  and 
though  sometimes  disappointed,  never  demurred 
at  their  parents'  decrees.  They  had  long  ago 
learned  that  such  demurring  would  do  no  good, 
and  that  to  obey  pleasantly  made  things  pleasanter 
all  round. 

After  luncheon  the  next  day,  Marjorie  got 
ready  to  go  to  spend  the  afternoon  with  Delight. 

She  wore  her   new   plaid   dress   trimmed   with 


140         MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

black  velvet  and  gilt  buttons,  and  as  red  was  the 
prevailing  color  in  the  plaid,  her  dark  curls  were 
tied  up  with  a  big  red  bow. 

Very  pretty  she  looked  as  she  came  for  her 
mother's  inspection. 

"Am  I  all  right,  Mother?" 

"  Yes,  Midget  mine ;  you  look  as  spick  and  span 
as  a  nice  little  Queen  of  Sheba.  Now  don't  slide 
down  the  banisters,  or  do  anything  hoydenish. 
Try  to  behave  more  as  Delight  does." 

"  Oh,  I'm  bound  to  be  good  over  there.  And 
making  valentines  is  nice,  quiet  work.  May  I 
stay  till  six,  Mother  ?  " 

"  No,  come  home  at  half-past  five.  That's  late 
enough  for  little  Queens  of  Sheba  to  stay  away 
from  their  mothers." 

"  All  right,  I'll  skip  at  five-thirty.  Good-bye, 
Mothery  deary." 

With  a  kiss  and  a  squeeze  Marjorie  was  off, 
and  Mrs.  Maynard  watched  her  from  the  window, 
until  she  disappeared  through  the  Spencers* 
doorway. 

"  I'm  so  glad  to  see  you !  "  said  Delight,  as 
Marjorie  came  dancing  into  her  room.  "  Every- 
thing's all  ready.  You  sit  over  there." 

So  Midget  sat  down  opposite  her  friend  at  a 


MAKING  VALENTINES 

long,  low  table,  on  which  were  all  the  valentine 
materials  laid  out  in  readiness. 

"  What  beautiful  things,"  cried  Midget ;  "  but 
I  don't  know  how  to  make  valentines." 

"  I'll  show  you.  It's  awfully  easy,  and  lots  of 
fun." 

It  was  easy  for  Delight.  Her  deft  little  fingers 
pinched  up  bits  of  tissue  paper  into  charming 
little  rosebuds  or  forget-me-nots,  and  her  dainty 
taste  chose  lovely  color  combinations. 

Marjorie's  quick  wits  soon  caught  the  idea,  and 
though  not  quite  so  nimble-fingered  as  Delight,  she 
soon  showed  an  inventive  originality  that  devised 
novel  ideas. 

Sometimes  they  only  took  the  round  or  square 
lace  papers,  and  mounted  them  on  cards,  and 
added  little  scrap  pictures  of  doves  or  cupids  or 
flowers. 

Then  some  of  them  were  quite  different.  De- 
light cut  a  heart-shaped  piece  of  cardboard,  and 
round  the  edge  dabbled  an  irregular  border  of 
gold  paint.  The  inside  she  tinted  pink  all  over, 
and  on  it  wrote  a  loving  little  verse  in  gilt  letters. 

This,  though  simple,  was  such  a  pretty  card, 
that  Mar j one  made  one  like  it,  adding  a  garland, 
of  roses  across  it,  which  made  it  prettier  still. 


142         MARJORJE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

Then  they  made  pretty  ones  of  three  panel 
cards.  To  do  this  they  took  an  oblong  card,  and 
cut  it  half  through  with  a  penknife  in  such  a  way 
that  it  divided  the  card  into  three  parts,  the  out- 
side two  shutting  over  the  middle  one  like  window 
blinds  over  a  window. 

The  card  would  stand  up  like  a  screen,  and 
they  decorated  each  panel  with  posies  and 
verses. 

"  What  are  you  going  to  do  with  all  these  valen- 
tines? "  asked  Midget,  as  they  were  busily  work- 
ing away  at  them. 

"  Half  are  yours,"  said  Delight,  "  and  half 
are  mine.  We  can  each  send  them  wherever  we 
please.  Of  course  I'll  send  most  of  mine  to  friends 
in  New  York;  I  haven't  any  friends  here." 

"  Indeed  you  have !  "  cried  Midget.  "  Don't  be 
silly.  You've  three  Maynard  friends,  to  begin 
with;  and  all  the  boys  and  girls  are  your  friends, 
only  you  don't  know  them  yet.  I'll  tell  you  what 
to  do.  You  send  valentines  to  all  the  Rockwell 
children, — I  mean  all  our  crowd,  and  they'll  just 
love  'em.  Will  you  ?  " 

"  Why,  yes,  if  you  think  I  can,  when  I  don't 
know  them  very  well.  I  can  easily  make  enough 
for  them  and  my  New  York  set  too." 


MAKING  VALENTINES 

"  Yes,  do ;  I'll  help  you,  if  I  get  mine  done  first. 
And  anyway,  it's  'most  two  weeks  before  Valen* 
tine's  day." 

"  Oh,  there's  plenty  of  time.  Look,  isn't  this 
a  pretty  one?  " 

Delight  held  up  a  card  on  which  she  had  painted 
with  her  water  colors  a  clouded  blue  sky  effect. 
And  on  it,  in  a  regular  flight,  she  had  pasted 
tiny  birds  that  she  found  among  the  scrap  pic- 
tures. 

"  Lovely !  "  said  Midget ;  "  you  ought  to  have 
a  verse  about  birds  on  it." 

"  I  don't  know  any  verse  about  birds,  do 
you?  " 

"  No ;  let's  make  one  up." 

"  Yes,  we  could  do  that.  It  ought  to  go  some- 
thing like  this :  *  The  swallows  tell  that  Spring 
is  here,  so  flies  my  heart  to  you,  my  dear.' ' 

"  Yes,  that's  nice  and  valentiny, — but  it  isn't 
Spring  in  February." 

"  No,  but  that's  poetic.  Valentines  have  to  be 
love-poems,  and  Spring  is  'most  always  in  a  love- 
poem." 

"  Yes,  I  s'pose  it  is.  I'd  like  to  do  some  funny 
ones.  I'm  not  much  good  at  sentimental  poetry. 
I  guess  I'll  do  one  for  King.  Here's  a  picture  of 


144         MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

a  bird  carrying  a  ring  in  its  beak.  Ring  rhymes 
with  King,  you  know." 

"  Oh,  yes,  make  one  of  those  limerick  things : 
'  There  was  a  young  fellow  named  King, 

"  That's  the  kind  I  mean.  Write  that  down 
while  I  paste.  Then  write :  *  Who  sent  to  his  lady 
a  ring.'  Now  what  next?  " 

"  Something  like  this :  '  He  said,  "  Sweet  Valen- 
tine, I  pray  you  be  mine."  And  she  answered  him, 
"  No  such  a  thing !  "  '" 

"  Oh,  that's  a  good  one.  Do  send  that  to  your 
brother.  But  it  hasn't  much  sense  to  it." 

"  No,  they  never  have.  Now,  I'll  make  one  for 
Kit :  '  There  was  a  dear  girlie  named  Kit,  who 
was  having  a  horrible  fit.' ' 

"  That  isn't  a  bit  valentiny." 

"  No,  I  know  it.  This  is  a  funny  one.  We'll 
make  her  another  pretty  one.  *  When  they  said, 
"Are  you  better?"  she  wrote  them  a  letter  in 
which  she  replied,  "  Not  a  bit !  "  '  " 

"  I  think  that's  sort  of  silly,"  said  Delight,  look- 
ing at  the  rhymes  she  had  written  at  Midget's 
dictation. 

"  Yes,  I  knew  it  is,"  returned  Marjorie,  cheer- 
fully. "  It's  nonsense,  and  that's  'most  always 
«illy.  But  Kit  loves  it,  and  so  do  I.  We  make 


MAKING  VALENTINES  145 

up  awful  silly  rhymes  sometimes.  You  don't 
know  Kitty  very  well  yet,  do  you  ?  She's  only  ten, 
but  she  plays  pretend  games  lovely.  Better'n  I 
do.  She  has  such  gorgeous  language.  I  don't 
know  where  she  gets  it." 

"  It  comes,"  said  Delight,  with  a  far-away  look 
in  her  eyes.  **  I  have  it  too.  You  can't  remember 
that  you've  ever  heard  it  anywhere;  the  words 
just  come  of  themselves." 

"  But  you  must  have  heard  them,  or  read  them," 
said  practical  Midget. 

"  Yes,  I  suppose  so.  But  it  doesn't  seem  like 
memory.  It's  just  as  if  you  had  always  known 
them.  Sometimes  I  pretend  all  to  myself.  And 
I'm  a  princess." 

"  I  knew  ycu  would  be !  Kit  said  so  too.  She 
likes  to  be  a  princess.  But  I  like  to  be  a  queen. 
You  might  as  well  be,  you  know,  when  you're  just 
pretending." 

"  Yes,  you'd  be  a  splendid  queen.  You're  so 
big  and  strong.  But  I  like  to  be  a  princess,  and 
'most  always  Fm  captive,  in  a  tower,  waiting  for 
somebody  to  rescue  me." 

"  Come  on,  let's  play  it  now,"  said  Marjorie, 
jumping  up.  u  I'm  tired  of  pasting  things,  and 
we  can  finish  these  some  other  day.  You  be  a 


146         MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

captive  princess,  and  I'll  be  a  brave  knight  com- 
ing to  rescue  you." 

But  just  then  Mrs.  Spencer  appeared,  carrying 
a  tray  on  which  were  glasses  of  milk,  crackers,  and 
dear  little  cakes,  and  the  two  girls  concluded  they 
would  postpone  their  princess  play  till  a  little 
later. 

"  I'm  so  bothered,"  said  Mrs.  Spencer,  in  her 
tired,  plaintive  voice,  as  she  sat  down  with  the  chil- 
dren ;  "  I  cannot  get  good  servants  to  stay  with 
me  here.  I  had  no  trouble  in  the  city  at  all.  Does 
your  mother  have  good  servants,  Marjorie?  " 

"  Yes,  Mrs.  Spencer,  I  think  so.  They're  the 
ones  we've  always  had." 

"  Well,  mine  wouldn't  come  with  me  from  the 
city,  so  I  had  to  get  some  here.  And  the  cook 
has  a  small  child,  and  to-day  he's  ill, — really  quite 
ill, — and  the  waitress  is  helping  the  cook,  and  so 
I  had  to  bring  up  this  tray  myself." 

*'  Can't  I  help  you  in  some  way,  Mrs.  Spencer?  " 
asked  Marjorie,  impulsively.  It  was  her  nature 
to  be  helpful,  though  it  would  never  have  occurred 
to  Delight  to  make  such  an  offer. 

"  No,  dear  child ;  there's  nothing  you  could  do. 
But  the  doctor  is  down  there  now,  to  see  the  little 
one,  and  I  fear  if  the  child  is  very  ill,  cook  wiU 


MAKING  VALENTINES  147 

have  to  leave,  and  what  to  do  then,  I  don't 
know." 

"  Perhaps  the  child  is  only  a  little  sick,"  said 
Midge,  who  wanted  to  be  comforting,  but  did  not 
know  quite  what  to  say  to  comfort  a  grown-up 
lady. 

"  We'll  soon  know,  after  the  doctor  makes  his 
decision,"  said  Mrs.  Spencer.  "  Oh,  that's  Mag- 
gie crying.  I'm  afraid  it's  a  bad  case." 

Sure  enough,  sounds  of  loud  sobbing  could  be 
heard  from  the  direction  of  the  kitchen,  and  Mrs. 
Spencer  hurried  away  to  learn  what  had  happened. 

"  It  must  be  awful,"  said  Marjorie,  "  to  be  a 
cook  and  have  your  little  boy  ill,  and  no  time  to 
attend  to  him,  because  you  have  to  cook  for  other 
people." 

Delight  stared  at  her. 

"  I  think  the  awful  part,"  she  said,  "  is  to 
have  your  cook's  baby  get  ill,  so  she  can't  cook 
your  dinner." 

"  Delight,  that  is  selfish,  and  I  don't  think  you 
ought  to  talk  so." 

"  I  don't  think  it's  selfish  to  want  the  services 
of  your  own  servants.  That's  what  you  have 
them  for, — to  cook  and  work  for  you.  They 
oughtn't  to  let  their  little  boys  get  sick." 


148         MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

"  I  don't  suppose  they  do  it  on  purpose,"  saicf 
Midge,  half  laughing  and  half  serious ;  "  but  1'n? 
sorry  for  your  cook  anyway." 

"  Pm  sorry  for  us!  But,  gracious,  Marjorie, 
hear  her  cry!  The  little  boy  must  be  awfullj 
sick ! " 

"Yes,  indeed!  She's  just  screaming!  Shall 
we  go  down  ?  " 

"  No,  I'm  sure  mother  wouldn't  like  us  to.  But 
I  don't  feel  like  playing  princess,  do  you?  " 

"  No,  not  while  she  screams  like  that.  There 
goes  the  doctor  away." 

From  the  window,  the  girls  saw  the  doctor 
hasten  down  the  path,  jump  into  his  electric  run- 
about, and  whiz  rapidly  away. 

They  could  still  hear  sobbing  from  the  kitchen, 
and  now  and  then  the  moans  of  the  baby. 

At  last,  Mary,  the  waitress,  came  to  take  the 
tray  away. 

"  What  is  the  matter  with  Maggie's  little  boy, 
Mary  ?  "  asked  Delight. 

"  He's  sick,  Miss  Delight." 

"  But  why  does  Maggie  scream  so?  " 

"  It's  near  crazy  she  is,  fearin'  he'll  die." 

"  Oh,"  said  Marjorie,  "  is  he  as  bad  as  that  I 
What's  the  matter  with  him,  Mary?  " 


MAKING  VALENTINES  149 

"  He, — he  has  a  cold,  Miss." 

"  But  babies  don't  die  of  a  cold !  Is  that  all 
that  ails  him?  " 

"  He  has, — he  has  a  fever,  Miss." 

"  A  high  fever,  I  s'pose.  Rosy  Posy  had  that 
tvhen  she  had  croup.  Is  it  croup,  Mary?  " 

"  No,  Miss, — I  don't  know,  Miss,  oh,  don't  be 
askin'  me ! " 

With  a  flurried  gesture,  Mary  took  the  tray  and 
left  the  room. 

"  It's  very  queer,"  said  Delight,  "  they're  mak- 
ing an  awful  fuss  over  a  sick  baby.  Here's  the 
doctor  back  again,  and  another  man  with  him." 

The  two  men  came  in  quickly,  and  Mrs.  Spencer 
met  them  at  the  front  door.  They  held  a  rapid 
consultation,  and  then  the  doctor  went  to  the  tele- 
phone and  called  up  several  different  people  to 
whom  he  talked  one  after  another. 

And  then  Mrs.  Spencer  went  to  the  telephone. 

"  Oh,"  said  Delight,  looking  at  Marjorie  with 
startled  eyes,  "  she's  calling  up  father  in  New 
York.  It  must  be  something  awful !  " 


CHAPTER  XI 

MARJORIE    CAPTIVE 

IT  was  something  awful.  The  doctor  diagnosed 
the  child's  case  as  diphtheria,  and  proceeded  at 
once  to  take  the  steps  ordered  by  the  Board  of 
Health  in  such  cases. 

Mrs.  Spencer  wanted  to  send  the  little  one  to 
the  hospital,  but  Doctor  Mendel  said  that  would 
not  be  allowed.  So  the  house  was  to  be  disinfected, 
and  a  strict  quarantine  maintained  until  all  dan- 
ger should  be  past. 

"  The  woman  and  her  child  must  be  put  in  cer- 
tain rooms,  and  not  allowed  to  leave  them,"  said 
the  doctor ;  "  and  no  one  in  the  house  must  go  out 
of  it,  and  no  one  out  of  it  may  come  in." 

"  What !  "  cried  Mrs.  Spencer,  in  dismay,  think- 
ing of  Marjorie.  And  Marjorie  and  Delight, 
unable  to  keep  away  any  longer,  came  into  the 
room  just  in  time  to  hear  the  doctor's  statement. 

"What's  the  matter,  mother?"  cried  Delight. 
*'  Tell  me  about  it !  Is  Maggie's  little  boy  going 

away?" 

150 


MARJORIE  CAPTIVE  151 

"  You  tell  her,  Doctor  Mendel,"  said  Mrs.  Spen- 
cer ;  "  I  can't." 

"  Why,  Marjorie  Maynard? "  exclaimed  the 
doctor,  "  are  you  here?  Well,  this  is  a  pretty 
kettle  of  fish !  " 

Although  the  Spencers  had  never  seen  Doctor 
Mendel  before,  he  was  the  Maynards*  family 
physician,  and  he  realized  at  once  the  great  mis- 
fortune of  Marjorie's  presence  in  the  infected 
house. 

"  Yes,  I'm  here,"  said  Midget ;  "  can't  I  go 
home?" 

"  No,  child,"  said  Doctor  Mendel,  gravely ; 
"  you  cannot  leave  this  house  until  all  danger  of 
infection  is  over.  That  will  be  two  weeks  at 
least,  and  perhaps  more." 

"  And  can't  Mr.  Spencer  come  home  ?  "  asked 
Mrs.  Spencer. 

"  No ;  unless  he  stays  here  after  he  comes  in. 
He  can  not  go  back  and  forth  to  New  York  every 
day." 

Mrs.  Spencer  looked  utterly  bewildered.  Ac- 
customed to  depend  upon  her  husband  in  any 
emergency,  she  felt  quite  unable  to  meet  this 
situation. 

"  And  there  is  danger  of  these  two  girls  having 


152         MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

diphtheria  ? "  she  said,  in  a  scared  voice,  as  if 
anxious  to  know  the  worst  at  once. 

"  There  is  grave  danger,  Mrs.  Spencer,  for  all 
in  the  house.  But  we  will  hope  by  careful  treat- 
ment to  avoid  that.  The  quarantine,  however,  is 
imperative.  You  must  not  let  your  servants  or 
your  family  go  out  into  the  street,  nor  must  you 
allow  any  one  except  myself  to  come  in." 

"  Oh,  Doctor  Mendel,"  cried  Marjorie,  "  how 
can  I  see  Mother  ?  " 

"  You  can't  see  her.  I'm  sorry,  Marjorie,  but 
you  simply  can  not  go  home,  nor  can  she  come 
here." 

"  And  I'll  have  to  have  diphtheria,  and  die,  with- 
out seeing  her  at  all !  " 

"  Tut,  tut !  You're  not  going  to  have  diph- 
theria, I  hope.  These  precautions  are  necessary*, 
because  of  the  law,  but  you're  by  no  means  sure 
to  take  the  disease." 

"  Delight  will,"  said  Mrs.  Spencer,  in  a  hope- 
Jess  tone.  "  She's  so  delicate,  and  so  subject  to 
throat  affections.  Oh,  how  can  I  stand  all  this 
without  any  one  to  help  me?  Can't  I  have  a 
trained  nurse?  " 

Doctor  Mendel  almost  laughed  at  the  lady's 
request. 


MARJORIE  CAPTIVE  153 

"  Of  course  you  may,  as  soon  as  there's  a  pa- 
tient for  her  to  take  care  of.  But  you  surely 
don't  want  one  when  there's  no  illness  in  this  part 
of  the  house." 

"  Why,  so  there  isn't ! "  said  Mrs.  Spencer, 
looking  greatly  relieved.  "  I'm  so  bewildered  I 
felt  that  these  two  children  were  already  down 
*-ith  diphtheria." 

"  It's  a  very  trying  situation,"  went  on  Doctor 
Mendel,  looking  kindly  at  Mrs.  Spencer.  "  For 
I  do  not  see  how  your  husband  can  come  home,  if 
he  wants  to  continue  at  his  business.  And  surely, 
there's  no  use  of  his  coming  home,  so  long  as 
there's  no  illness  in  your  immediate  family.  He 
would  better  stay  in  New  York." 

"  Oh,  not  in  New  York,"  cried  Mrs.  Spencer. 
"  He  can  come  to  Rockwell  every  night,  and  stay 
at  the  hotel  or  some  place." 

"  Yes,  that  would  be  better ;  then  you  can  tele- 
phone often." 

"  And  I  can  telephone  to  Mother ! "  said 
Midget,  who  was  beginning  to  see  a  brighter 
side. 

"  Yes,  of  course,"  agreed  the  doctor.  "  I'll  go 
over  there,  and  tell  her  all  about  it." 

"  Won't  she  be  surprised ! " 


154         MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

"  Yes,  I  f ancj  she  will !  Do  you  want  her  to 
send  you  some  clothes?  " 

"  Why,  yes ;  I  s'pose  so.  I  never  thought  of 
that !  Oh,  I'd  rather  go  home !  " 

The  bright  side  suddenly  faded,  and  Midget's 
curly  head  went  down  in  her  arm,  and  she  shook 
with  sobs.  A  vision  of  home,  and  the  dear  family 
around  the  dinner-table,  while  she  was  exiled  in  a 
strange  house,  was  too  much  for  her. 

"  Now,  Mar j one,"  said  the  doctor,  "  you  must 
bear  this  bravely.  It  is  hard,  I  know,  but  Mrs. 
Spencer  is  by  far  the  greatest  sufferer.  Here 
she  is,  with  two  children  to  look  after,  and  her 
husband  shut  out  from  his  home,  and  her  servants 
in  a  state  of  unreasoning  terror.  I  think  you 
two  girls  should  brace  up,  and  help  Mrs.  Spencer 
all  you  can." 

"  I  think  so,  t-too,"  said  Midget,  in  a  voice  still 
choking  with  tears,  and  then  Delight  began  to  cry. 

Her  crying  wasn't  a  sudden  outburst  like  Mar- 
jorie's,  but  a  permanent  sort  of  affair,  which  she 
pursued  diligently  and  without  cessation. 

Mrs.  Spencer  paid  little  attention  to  the  two 
weeping  children,  for  the  poor  lady  had  other 
responsibilities  that  required  her  attention. 

"  What  about  Maggie,  Doctor  ?  "  she  asked. 


MARJORIE  CAPTIVE  155 

**  She  must  stay  here,  of  course.  And,  as  she 
can't  go  to  a  hospital,  she  will  probably  prefer 
to  stay  here.  Your  waitress  may  desert  you,  but 
I  will  tell  her  if  she  goes,  it  is  in  defiance  of  the 
law,  and  she  will  be  punished.  I  trust,  Mrs.  Spen- 
cer, that  there  will  be  no  more  illness  here,  and 
the  worst  will  be  the  inconvenience  of  this  quaran- 
tine. At  any  rate  we  will  look  at  it  that  way, 
so  long  as  there  are  no  signs  of  infection.  Now, 
I  will  go  over  to  the  Maynards  and  explain  mat- 
ters to  them,  and  I  will  meet  Mr.  Spencer  at  the 
train,  and  he  will  telephone  you  at  once.  Mean- 
time, I  will  myself  superintend  the  disinfection  of 
this  house.  And  remember,  while  there  is  danger 
for  the  two  little  girls,  I  do  not  think  it  probable 
that  they  will  be  affected." 

"  I  hope  not,"  said  Mrs.  Spencer,  sighing. 
"  And  here's  another  thing,  Doctor.  I  expect  a 
governess  for  Delight,  a  Miss  Hart,  who  is  to 
come  with  Mr.  Spencer  on  the  train  this  evening. 
She  should  be  warned." 

"  Yes,  indeed.  I'll  meet  them  at  the  train,  and 
attend  to  that  for  you.  Probably  she'll  remain  at 
the  hotel  over  night,  and  go  back  to  the  city 
to-morrow." 

"  She   could   go   to  our  house  to  stay,"  said 


156         MARJOKIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

Marjorie.  She  was  still  crying,  but  she  loved  to 
make  plans.  "  Then  she  could  telephone  the  les- 
gons  over  to  Delight,  and  I  could  learn  a  little 
too.  Oh,  I  won't  have  to  go  to  school  for  two 
weeks !  " 

This  was  a  consolation,  and  the  happy  thought 
entirely  stopped  Marjorie's  tears. 

Not  so  Delight.  She  cried  on,  softly,  but 
steadily,  until  Midget  looked  at  her  with  real 
curiosity. 

"  What  do  you  cry  that  way  for,  Delight  ?  " 
she  said.  "  It  doesn't  do  any  good." 

Delight  looked  at  her,  but  wept  industriously  on. 

"  Oh,  come,"  said  Midget,  "  let's  look  for  the 
bright  side.  Let's  pretend  I've  come  to  visit  you 
for  two  weeks,  and  let's  have  some  fun  out  of  this 
thing." 

"  How  can  you  talk  so  ?  "  said  Delight,  through 
her  tears.  "  We  may  both  be  dead  in  two  weeks." 

**  Nonsense ! "  cried  Doctor  Mendel ;  "  no  more 
of  that  sort  of  talk !  If  you're  so  sure  of  having 
diphtheria,  I'll  send  you  to  the  hospital  at  once." 

Delight  did  not  know  the  doctor  as  well  as 
Marjorie  did,  and  this  suggestion  frightened  her. 

She  tried  to  stop  crying,  and  smile,  and  she  suc- 
ceeded fairly  well. 


MARJORIE  CAPTIVE  157 

"  That's  better,"  said  the  doctor.  "  Now,  I'm 
going  across  the  street.  Marjorie,  what  message 
do  you  want  to  send  your  mother?  Of  course 
she'll  send  over  some  clothes  and  things.  You  can 
have  anything  you  want  sent,  but  don't  have 
needless  things,  for  they  must  all  be  disinfected 
later,  and  it  might  harm  your  best  clothes." 

"  Oh,  I  shan't  want  my  best  clothes,  since  we 
can't  have  company  or  parties,"  said  Midget,  in- 
terested now,  in  spite  of  herself.  "  Tell  Mother  to 
send  my  night  things;  and  my  red  cashmere  for 
to-morrow  morning,  and  my  other  red  hair  rib- 
bons, and  my  pink  kimono,  and  my  worsted  slip- 
pers, and  that  book  on  my  bureau,  the  one  with 
the  leaf  turned  down,  and  some  handkerchiefs, 
and " 

"  There,  there,  child,  I  can't  remember  those 
things,  and  your  mother  will  know,  anyway, — 
except  about  the  book  with  the  leaf  turned  down, 
— I'll  tell  her  that.  And  you  can  telephone  her, 
you  know." 

"  Oh,  so  I  can !  That  will  be  almost  like  seeing 
her.  Can't  I  telephone  now?  " 

"  No,  I'd  rather  tell  her  about  it  myself.  Then 
I'll  tell  her  to  call  you  up,  and  you  can  give  her 
your  list  of  hair  ribbons  and  jimcracks." 


158         MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

"  All  right  then.  Hurry  up,  Doctor,  so  I  can 
talk  to  her  soon." 

Doctor  Mendel  went  away,  and  Marjorie  and 
Delight  sat  and  looked  at  each  other.  Mrs.  Spen- 
cer had  gone  to  the  kitchen  to  arrange  for  the 
comfort  of  the  distressed  mother,  and  the  little 
girls  were  trying  to  realize  what  had  happened. 

"  I'm  glad  you're  here,"  said  Delight,  "  for 
I'd  be  terribly  lonely  without  you,  in  all  this 
trouble." 

Midget  was  silent.  She  couldn't  honestly  say 
she  was  glad  she  was  there,  and  yet  to  say  she  was 
sorry  seemed  unkind. 

"  Well,  as  long  as  I  am  here,"  she  said  at  last, 
"  I'm  glad  you're  glad.  It's  all  so  strange !  To 
be  here  staying  in  Gladys's  house,  and  Gladys  not 
here,  and  I  can't  get  away  even  if  I  want  to, — 
why,  I  can't  seem  to  get  used  to  it." 

"  It's  awful ! "  said  Mrs.  Spencer,  coming  in 
from  the  kitchen.  "  I  hope  your  mother  won't 
blame  me,  Marjorie;  I'm  sure  I  couldn't  help  it." 

"  Of  course  she  won't  blame  you,  Mrs.  Spencer. 
She'U  only  be  sorry  for  you."  » 

"  But  she'll  be  so  worried  about  you." 

"  Yes'm ;  I  s'pose  she  will.  But  maybe,  if  I  do 
take  it,  it  will  be  a  light  case." 


MARJORIE  CAPTIVE  159 

*'  Oh,  don't  talk  of  light  cases !  I  hope  you 
won't  have  it  at  all, — either  of  you." 

After  what  seemed  to  Mar j one  a  long  time  of 
waiting,  her  mother  called  her  up  on  the  telephone. 

"  My  dear  little  girl,"  said  Mrs.  Maynard, 
"  how  shall  I  get  along  without  you  for  two 
weeks  ?  " 

"  Oh,  Mother,"  said  Mar  j  one,  "  you  have  the 
others,  but  I  haven't  anybody!  How  shall  I  get 
along  without  you  ?  " 

Marjorie's  voice  was  trembling,  and  though 
Mrs.  Maynard  was  heart-broken  she  forced  her- 
self to  be  cheerful  for  Midget's  sake. 

"  Well,  dearie,"  she  said,  "  we  must  make  the 
best  of  it.  I'll  telephone  you  three  times  a  day, — 
or  at  least,  some  of  us  will, — and  I'll  write  you 
letters." 

"  Oh,  will  you,  Mother?     That  will  be  lovely !  " 

"  Yes,  I'll  write  you  every  day.  You  can  re- 
ceive letters  although  you  can't  send  any.  Now, 
I  want  you  to  be  my  own  brave  little  daughter, 
and  not  only  try  to  be  cheerful  and  pleasant  your- 
self, but  cheer  up  Mrs.  Spencer  and  Delight." 

"  Yes,  Mother,  I  will  try.  I  feel  better  already, 
since  I've  heard  your  voice." 

"  Of  course  you  do.     And  Father  will  talk  to 


160         MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

you  when  he  comes  home,  and  to-morrow  Kitty 
and  King  can  talk,  and  you'll  almost  feel  as  if 
you  were  at  home." 

"  Yes, — but  oh,  Mother,  it's  awful,  isn't  it  ?  " 

"  No,  it  isn't  awful  at  all,  unless  you  get  ill. 
But  we  won't  cross  that  bridge  until  we  come  to 
it.  Now,  I'll  send  over  a  suitcase  to-night,  and 
then  I  can  send  more  things  to-morrow." 

"  Yes,  Mother.  And  put  in  your  picture, 
won't  you?  The  one  on  my  mantelpiece,  I  mean. 
Then  I'll  have  it  to  kiss  good-night  to." 

Mrs.  Maynard's  voice  choked  a  little,  but  she 
said: 

"  Yes,  dear,  I  will.  Good-bye  for  now ;  we 
mustn't  monopolize  Mrs.  Spencer's  telephone." 

"  Good-bye,"  said  Midget,  reluctantly,  and 
hung  up  the  receiver,  feeling  that  now  she  was 
indeed  an  exile  from  her  home.  But  not  long 
after,  she  was  called  to  the  telephone  again,  and 
her  father's  cheery  voice  said: 

"Why,  Marjorie  Midget  Mopsy  MaynardI 
What's  this  I  hear  about  your  deserting  your  home 
and  family?  " 

"  Oh,  Father  dear,  isn't  it  terrible !  " 

"  Why,  I  don't  know  as  it  is.  You'll  have  a  fine 
visit  with  your  little  friend,  and  you  won't  have  to 


MARJORIE  CAPTIVE  161 

go  to  school,  and  I  should  think  you'd  have  a 
fine  time !  But  some  people  are  never  satisfied !  " 

"  Now,  don't  tease,  Father.  You  know  I'll  just 
go  crazy  with  homesickness  to  see  you  all  again ! " 

"  Oh,  well,  if  you  really  do  go  crazy,  I'll  put 
you  in  a  nice  pretty  little  lunatic  asylum  that  I 
know  of.  But  before  your  mind  is  entirely  gone, 
I  want  you  to  have  a  good  time  with  Delight,  and 
I'll  help  all  I  can." 

"  I  don't  see  how  you  can  help  much,  if  I  can't 
see  you." 

"You  don't,  eh?  Well,  you'll  find  out,  later 
on.  But  just  now,  I'm  going  to  give  you  three 
rules,  and  I  want  you  to  obey  them.  Will  you?  " 

"Of  course  I  will,  Father.     What  are  they?" 

"  First,  never  think  for  a  moment  that  you're 
going  to  catch  that  sore  throat  that  the  cook's 
little  boy  has.  I  don't  think  you  are,  and  I  don't 
want  to  think  so.  Promise?" 

"  Yes,  I  promise.     What  next  ?  " 

"  Next ;  never  think  that  you're  to  stay  over 
there  two  weeks.  Never  use  the  words  at  all. 
Just  think  each  day,  that  you're  merely  staying 
that  one  night,  and  that  you're  just  staying  for 
fun.  See?" 

*8  Yes ;  I'll  promise,  but  it  won't  be  easy." 


162         MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

"  Make  it  easy  then.  I'll  help  you.  And  third, 
don't  feel  sorry  for  yourself." 

"  Oh,  Father,  I  do !  " 

"  Well,  don't !  If  you  want  to  feel  sorry  for 
somebody,  choose  some  one  else,  a  poor  Hotten- 
tot, or  a  lame  kangaroo,  or  even  your  old  father. 
But,  mind,  it's  a  rule,  you're  not  to  feel  sorry  for 
Marjorie  Maynard." 

"  That's  a  funny  rule.     But  I'll  try  to  mind  it." 

"  That's  my  own  dear  daughter.  Now,  to  be- 
gin. As  you're  to  stay  with  Delight  to-night, 
we're  sending  over  your  night  things.  Go  to  bed 
early  and  sleep  well,  so  you  can  wake  bright  and 
fresh  and  have  fun  playing  all  day  to-morrow." 

All  this  sounded  so  gay  and  pleasant  that  Mar- 
jorie was  really  very  much  cheered  up,  and  replied 
gaily: 

"All  right,  Daddy;  I'll  do  just  as  you  say. 
And  will  you  call  me  up  to-morrow  morning  before 
you  go  to  New  York?  " 

**  Yes,  of  course  I  will.  Now,  good-night, — 
just  the  same  as  a  good-night  at  home." 

"  Good-night,  Father,"  and  Midget  hung  up 
the  receiver  again. 

By  this  time  Delight  had  stopped  her  crying, 
and  Mrs.  Spencer  had  become  a  little  more  re- 


MARJORIE  CAPTIVE  163 

signed  to  the  unpleasant  state  of  things.  The 
servants  had  consented  to  stay,  for  the  present, 
and  their  decision  was  more  due  to  Doctor  Men- 
del's hints  about  the  law,  than  their  own  loyalty 
to  Mrs.  Spencer. 

Then  Doctor  Mendel  had  met  Mr.  Spencer  at 
the  railroad  station,  and  had  explained  affairs  to 
him. 

Although  it  seemed  very  hard  it  was  thought 
advisable  by  all  interested,  that  Mr.  Spencer 
should  not  go  to  his  home  at  all.  His  business, 
which  was  large  and  important,  required  his  pres- 
ence every  day,  and  to  take  two  weeks  away  from 
it  just  at  that  time  would  be  disastrous  in  effect. 

Mr.  Maynard,  who  was  present  at  the  interview, 
invited  Mr.  Spencer  to  stay  at  his  home  until  the 
quarantine  should  be  raised,  and  this  offer  of  hos- 
pitality was  gratefully  accepted. 

"  It  seems  only  fair,"  said  Mr.  Maynard,  "  that 
we  should  entertain  you,  as  you  have  our  Marjorie 
as  a  guest  at  your  house." 

"  An  unwilling  guest,  I  fear,"  said  Mr.  Spencer, 
with  a  sad  smile. 

"But  ready  to  make  the  best  of  it,  as  we  all 
must  be,"  rejoined  Mr.  Maynard. 


CHAPTER  XII 

MISS    HART    HELPS 

Miss  HART,  Delight's  new  governess,  who  came 
out  from  New  York  with  Mr.  Spencer,  listened 
to  the  doctor's  story  with  a  grave  face. 

"  And  I  think,  Miss  Hart,"  said  Doctor  Men- 
del, in  conclusion,  "  that  you  would  better  stay 
in  Rockwell  over  night,  and  return  to  the  city  to- 
morrow." 

"  I  don't  think  so !  "  said  Miss  Hart,  with  such 
emphasis  that  the  three  men  looked  at  her  in 
surprise. 

"  If  you  will  go  home  with  me,"  said  Mr.  May- 
nard,  "  Mrs.  Maynard  will  give  you  a  warm  wel- 
come, and  then  you  can  decide  to-morrow  on  your 
further  plans." 

"  No,"  said  Miss  Hari;,  who  seemed  to  be  a  young 
woman  of  great  decision  of  character,  "  I  shall 
go  straight  to  Mrs.  Spencer's.  I  am  engaged  to 
go  there  to-night,  and  I  want  to  go.  I  am  not 
at  all  afraid  of  the  diphtheria,  and  as  Delight  is 
perfectly  well,  she  can  begin  her  lessons  just  as 
I6a 


MISS  HART  HELPS  165 

we  planned  to  do.  This  will  keep  her  interested 
and  prevent  her  from  worrying  as  much  as  if  she 
were  idle.  And  then,  if  anything  should  hap- 
pen, I  will  be  there  to  assist  Mrs.  Spencer." 

"  Thank  you,  Miss  Hart,"  said  Mr.  Spencer, 
shaking  her  hand.  "  You  are  a  noble  woman,  and 
I  shall  be  so  glad  to  have  you  there  with  my  wife. 
I've  been  trying  to  think  how  I  could  get  a  com- 
panion for  her,  but  none  of  her  city  friends  would 
enter  the  house,  nor  could  they  be  expected  to. 
And,  of  course,  no  Rockwell  neighbors  can  go 
in.  But  you  will  be  a  tower  of  strength,  and  I 
shall  be  immensely  relieved  to  have  you  there." 

Doctor  Mendel  was  pleased  too,  at  the  turn  af- 
fairs had  taken,  for  he  feared  Mrs.  Spencer  would 
break  down  under  the  nervous  strain,  if  she  had 
to  bear  her  trouble  alone. 

So  when  Mr.  Maynard  took  Mr.  Spencer  to  his 
own  home,  Doctor  Mendel  took  Miss  Hart  to  Mrs. 
Spencer's. 

"  I've  brought  you  another  visitor,"  he  cried, 
cheerily,  as  he  entered  the  quarantined  house. 

"  Why,  Doctor,"  said  Mrs.  Spencer,  "  you 
said  nobody  could  come  in !  " 

"  No,  not  if  they're  to  go  out  again.  But  Miss 
Hart  has  come  to  stay." 


166         MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

"  Oh,  how  splendid !  "  cried  Mrs.  Spencer,  "  are 
you  really  willing  to  do  so  ?  " 

"  Yes,  indeed,"  answered  Miss  Hart.  "  And  it 
looks  to  me  as  if  I  should  have  two  pupils  instead 
of  one."  She  looked  kindly  at  Marjorie,  who 
smiled  in  return,  though  she  did  not  at  all  feel 
sure  that  she  wanted  lessons  added  to  her  other 
troubles. 

But  Miss  Hart  seemed  to  ignore  the  fact  that 
there  were  any  troubles  for  anybody. 

She  talked  pleasantly,  even  gaily,  with  Mrs. 
Spencer.  She  chatted  merrily  with  Delight  and 
Marjorie;  and  she  even  went  out  and  spoke  very 
kindly  to  the  afflicted  Maggie.  And  it  was  partly 
due  to  her  suggestions  that  Mary,  who  was  acting 
as  cook,  added  some  special  dainties  to  the  menu, 
and  sent  up  an  unusually  good  dinner.  The  party 
that  gathered  round  the  table  was  not  a  sad  one, 
but  this  was  due  to  the  combined  efforts  of  Miss 
Hart  and  Marjorie. 

Midget  remembered  her  father's  rules,  and  pre- 
tended she  was  just  staying  with  the  Spencers  for 
one  night.  She  was  so  fond  of  "  pretending,"  that 
this  part  came  easy.  Then  she  had  put  out  of 
her  mind  the  idea  that  she  might  have  the  diph- 
theria, and  moreover,  she  was  trying  really  hard 


MISS  HART  HELPS  167 

not  to  be  sorry  for  herself.  In  consequence  of 
all  this,  she  was  gay  and  merry,  and  she  was 
helped  to  be  so  by  Miss  Hart,  who  was  good  cheer 
itself. 

The  new  governess  was  a  pretty  little  woman, 
with  smooth  dark  hair,  and  snapping  black  eyes, 
that  seemed  to  read  people's  innermost  thoughts. 
Although  not  entirely  unacquainted  with  the  Spen- 
cers, she  had  never  before  lived  with  them,  but 
had  been  governess  in  the  family  of  a  friend  of 
theirs.  She  was  anxious  for  this  new  position, 
and  Mrs.  Spencer,  who  had  been  pleased  to  have 
her  come,  was  doubly  glad  to  have  her  in  this 
emergency. 

"  We  won't  begin  to-morrow,"  said  Miss  Hart, 
when  the  subject  of  lessons  was  broached,  "  but  I 
think  we'll  begin  next  day.  We'll  spend  to-mor- 
row getting  acquainted,  and  learning  to  like  each 
other.  You'll  join  the  class,  won't  you,  Mar- 
jorie?  " 

"Yes,  I  think  I'd  like  study  that  way,"  said 
Midge;  "but  I  don't  like  school." 

"  I'll  guarantee  you'll  like  study  in  our  class," 
said  Miss  Hart,  smiling ;  "  you'll  be  sorry  when 
school  hours  are  over." 

Midge  could  hardly  think  this,  but  of  one  thing 


168         MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

she  was  certain,  that  Miss  Hart  would  be  a  pleas- 
ant teacher. 

Soon  after  dinner,  Marjorie's  suitcase  arrived. 

James  brought  it  over,  and  set  it  on  the  front 
porch  and  rang  the  bell.  Then  he  went  away  be-' 
fore  the  door  was  opened,  as  he  had  been  instructed 
to  do. 

When  Marjorie  opened  the  bag  she  found  a 
note  from  each  of  the  family,  and  they  were  all 
written  in  verse. 

She  read  them  aloud  to  the  Spencer  household, 
and  soon  they  were  all  laughing  at  the  nonsense 
rhymes. 

Her  mother  had  written: 

"  Midget,  Midget, 
Don't  be  in  a  fidget. 
Don't  be  sad  and  tearful, 
Just    be    gay    and    cheerful; 
Don't  be  sadly  sighing, 
For  the  days  are  flying, 
And  some  day  or  other 
You'll    come    home   to 

MOTHER.*' 

"  Why,  that's  as  good  as  a  valentine,"  said  Miss 
Hart,  as  Midget  finished  reading  the  lines. 

"  So  it  is!"  said  Marjorie,  smiling;  "  I'm  go- 
ing to  pretend  they're  all  valentines.  Here's 
father's." 


MISS  HART  HELPS  169 

"Marjorie,  Midget  Mopsy, 
The  world  is  tipsy-topsy! 
When  I  am  here 
And  you  are  there 
1  feel  all  wipsy-wopsy! 
But  soon  you  will  be  home  once  more, 
And  all  will  be  as  it  was  before; 
So  make  the  most  of  your  fortnight's  stay, 
For  I  cannot  spare  you  another  day ! " 

By  this  time  Delight's  spirits  had  risen  to  such 
an  extent  that  she  exclaimed : 

"  I  think  it's  splendid  to  have  Marjorie  here 
for  two  weeks  !  " 

"  We'll  make  a  picnic  of  it,"  said  Miss  Hart. 
"  You  girls  won't  often  have  two  weeks  together, 
so  we  must  cram  all  the  pleasure  into  it  we  can." 

Cramming  pleasure  into  this  dreadful  time  was 
a  new  idea  to  Delight,  but  she  was  willing  to  agree 
to  it,  and  Marjorie  said: 

"  I  think  we  can  be  happy  if  we  try.  But  we 
have  to  forget  the  bad  parts  and  only  remember 
the  good." 

"  That's  it,"  said  Miss  Hart.  "  Now  read  us 
another  of  your  letters.  I'm  sure  they're  good 
parts." 

"  This  one  is  from  King, — that's  Kingdon,  my 
brother,"  explained  Marjorie,  as  she  took  up  the 
next  note. 


170         MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

"  Mops  is  a  captive  Princess  now, 
She  can't  get  out  of  prison; 
But  when  it's  time  to  let  her  go, 
Oh,  won't  she  come  home  whizzin' ! 
This  poetry  isn't  very  good, 

But  it's  the  best  that  I  can  sing, 
I  would  do  better  if  I  could, 
And  I'm  your  loving  brother 

KING." 

"What  a  jolly  boy!"  said  Miss  Hart,  "I'd 
like  to  know  him." 

"  You  will,"  said  Midget,  "  after  our  two  weeks' 
picnic  is  over."  She  smiled  at  Miss  Hart  as  she 
said  this,  accepting  her  idea  of  making  a  picnic 
of  their  enforced  imprisonment. 

"  Now,  here's  Kitty's,"  she  went  on.  "  Kitty's 
not  a  very  good  poet,  but  she  always  wants  to 
do  what  the  rest  do." 

"  Mar j  one  Maynard  nice  and  sweet, 
Has  to  stay  across  the  street. 
Fourteen  days  and  fourteen  nights, 
Visiting  her  friend  Delight. 
Marjorie  Maynard,  nice  and  pretty, 
Come  home  soon  to  sister 

KITTY." 

"Why,  I  think  that's  fine,"  said  Miss  Harl. 
"  Your  family  are  certainly  devoted  to  you." 

"  Yes,  they  are,"  said  Midget.  "  There's  an- 
other,— Rosy  Posy, — but  she's  only  five.  She 
can't  write  poetry." 


MISS  HART  HELPS  171 

"  Can  you  ?  "  asked  Miss  Hart. 

"  Yes,  I  can  make  as  good  verses  as  Kit ;  but 
not  as  good  as  King  or  father.  We  always  make 
verses  for  each  other  on  birthdays,  so  we  get  lots 
of  practise.  And  we  made  some  valentine  verses 
this  afternoon,  didn't  we,  Delight  ?  " 

"  Yes,  that  is,  you  did.  But,  oh,  Marjorie, 
we  can't  send  those  valentines !  Nothing  like  that 
can  go  out  of  the  house !  " 

"  Oh,  pshaw,  I  don't  believe  they  could  do  any 
harm." 

"  Well,  Doctor  Mendel  said  we  mustn't  send  a 
letter  of  any  sort,  and  a  valentine  is  just  the  same, 
you  know." 

"What  do  you  think,  Miss  Hart?"  asked 
Marjorie. 

"  I'm  afraid  you  can't  send  them,  my  dear. 
But  we'll  ask  the  doctor.  Perhaps,  if  they're  dis- 
infected  " 

"  Oh,  horrors !  "  cried  Midget ;  "  a  valentine  dis- 
infected !  Of  all  things !  Why,  it  would  smell  of 
that  horrid  sulphur  stuff  instead  of  a  sweet  violet 
scent!  Nobody  would  want  that  sort  of  a 
valentine." 

"No,  they  wouldn't,"  agreed  Delight.  «Oh, 
dear,  it's  too  bad !  " 


172         MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

"  Never  mind,  Delight,"  said  Marjorie.  "  We 
can  send  valentines  to  each  other,  and  to  Miss 
Hart,  and  to  your  mother.  Oh,  yes,  and  to  Mag- 
gie and  Mary.  I  guess  that's  about  all.  But 
everybody  can  send  them  to  us !  That  will  be  lots 
of  fun !  It  seems  selfish,  doesn't  it,  to  get  lots 
of  valentines  and  not  send  any?  But  it  isn't 
selfish,  because  we  can't  help  it." 

"  I  can  send  to  my  friends  in  New  York,"  said 
Delight,  thoughtfully,  "  by  letting  father  get 
them  and  send  them.  I  can  telephone  him  a  list, 
you  know.  It  isn't  as  much  fun  as  if  I  picked 
them  out  myself,  but  I  don't  want  the  girls  to 
think  I've  forgotten  them." 

"  If  they  know  about  the  quarantine,  they 
won't  open  the  valentines,"  suggested  Marjorie; 
"  they'll  think  they  came  from  this  house,  and 
they'll  be  frightened." 

"  That's  so,"  agreed  Delight ;  "  unless  they 
look  at  the  postmark  and  it's  New  York." 

"  Well,  then,  if  they  don't  know  your  father's 
writing,  they'll  never  know  they  came  from  you 
anyway." 

"  No,  they  won't.  But  then  people  never  are 
supposed  to  know  who  sends  a  valentine." 

u  Then  what's  the  good  of  sending  any?  " 


MISS  HART  HELPS  173 

*'  Oh,  it  always  comes  out  afterward.  I  hardly 
ever  get  any  that  I  don't  find  out  who  they're 
from,  sooner  or  later." 

"  Nor  I  either.  Well,  we'll  do  the  best  we 
can." 

Marjorie  sighed  a  little,  for  Valentine  Day  was 
always  a  gay  season  in  the  Maynard  home,  but 
she  had  promised  not  to  be  sorry  for  herself,  so 
she  put  the  thought  away  from  her  mind. 

As  Mrs.  Spencer's  room  opened  into  Delight's, 
she  decided  to  give  that  to  Marjorie,  and  take  the 
guest  room  herself.  She  felt  sorry  for  the  child, 
held  there  by  an  unfortunate  accident,  and  de- 
termined to  do  all  she  could  to  make  her  stay  pleas- 
ant. And  she  thought,  too,  it  would  please  De- 
light to  have  Marjorie  in  the  room  next  her  own. 
So  when  the  two  girls  went  upstairs  that  night, 
they  were  greatly  pleased  to  find  themselves  in 
communicating  rooms. 

"  We  can  pretend,  while  we're  getting  ready  for 
bed,"  said  Delight,  and  soon,  in  her  little  kimono, 
and  bedroom  slippers,  she  stalked  into  Midget's 
room  and  said,  with  despairing  gestures: 

"  Fellow  princess,  our  doom  hath  befel.  We 
are  belocked  in  a  prison  grim,  and  I  fear  me, 
nevermore  will  we  be  liberated." 


174         MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

"  Say  not  so,  Monongahela,"  answered  Mar- 
jorie, clasping  her  hands.  "  Methinks  ere  morn- 
ing dawns,  we  may  yet  be  free." 

"Nay,  oh,  nay!  the  terrible  jailer,  the  Baron 
Mendel,  he  hast  decreed  that  we  stay  bej ailed  for 
two  years." 

"  Two  years !  "  gasped  Midget,  falling  in  a  pre- 
tended swoon.  "  Ere  that  time  passes,  I  shall  be 
but  a  giggling  maniac." 

"  Gibbering,  you  mean.     Aye,  so  shall  I." 

"  Well,  stop  your  gibbering  for  to-night,"  said 
Mrs.  Spencer,  who  came  in,  laughing ;  "  you  can 
gibber  to-morrow,  if  you  like,  but  now  you  must 
go  to  bed.  Fly,  fair  princess,  with  golden  hair !  " 

Delight  flew,  and  Mrs.  Spencer  tucked  Mar- 
jorie  up  in  bed,  in  an  effort  to  make  the  child 
feel  at  home. 

There  wasn't  the  least  resemblance  between 
Mrs.  Spencer's  ways,  and  those  of  her  own  mother, 
but  Marjorie  was  appreciative  of  her  hostess's 
kind  intent,  and  said  good-night  to  Mrs.  Spencer 
very  lovingly.  -At  first,  there  was  a  strong  in- 
clination to  cry  a  little,  but  remembering  she  must 
not  be  sorry  for  herself,  Marjorie  smiled  instead, 
and  in  a  few  moments  she  was-  smiling  in  her  sleep. 
Next  morning,  she  put  on  the  morning  dress  that 


MISS  HART  HELPS  175 

had  come  over  in  the  suitcase,  and  went  down- 
stairs  with  Delight. 

"  It's  just  like  having  a  sister,"  said  Delight. 
"  I  do  believe,  Marjorie,  I'm  glad  all  this  hap- 
pened. Of  course,  I  don't  mean  I'm  glad  Mag- 
gie's baby  is  so  sick,  but  I'm  glad  you're  staying 
here." 

"  I  can't  quite  say  that,  Delight,  but  as  I  am 
here,  I'm  not  going  to  fuss  about  it.  There's  the 
telephone !  perhaps  it's  Father !  " 

It  was  Mr.  Maynard,  and  his  cheery  good- 
morning  did  Marjorie's  heart  good. 

"  All  serene  on  the  Rappahannock?  "  ke  asked. 

"  All  serene !  "  replied  Marjorie.  "  The  rerses 
were  fine!  I  was  so  glad  to  get  them." 

"  Did  you  sleep  well  ?  Have  you  a  good  ap- 
petite for  breakfast?  Did  you  remember  my 
rules?  May  I  send  you  a  small  gift  to-day?  Do 
you  think  it  will  rain?  Don't  you  want  your  kit- 
ten sent  over?  " 

"  Wait, — wait  a  minute,"  cried  Marjorie. 
"  Your  questions  come  so  fast  I  can't  answer  them, 
— but,  yes,  I  would  like  a  small  gift  to-day." 

"  Aha !  I  thought  you'd  pick  out  that  question 
of  all  the  bunch  to  answer.  Well,  you'll  get  it 
when  I  return  from  the  great  city.  Meantime,  be 


176         MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

good  and  you'll  be  happy,  and  I'm  proud  of  you, 
my  little  girl." 

"Proud  of  me!     Why?" 

"  Because  I  can  tell  by  your  voice  that  you're 
cheerful  and  pleasant,  and  that's  all  I  ask  of  you. 
Good-bye,  Mopsy,  I  must  go  for  my  train.  The 
others  will  talk  to  you  later  on." 

"  Good-bye,  Father,  and  I  would  like  the  kitten 
sent  over." 

Marjorie  left  the  telephone  with  such  a  happy 
face  that  Miss  Hart,  who  had  just  come  down- 
stairs, said: 

"  I'm  sure  you  had  pleasant  messages  from 
home." 

"  Yes,  indeed,"  said  Midget.  "  It  was  Father. 
He's  always  so  merry  and  jolly." 

"  And  you  inherit  those  traits.  I  like  fun,  too. 
I  think  we  shall  be  great  friends." 

"  I  think  so  too,"  agreed  Midget,  and  then  they 
all  went  to  breakfast. 

The  day  started  auspiciously  enough,  but  after 
Midge  had  telephoned  to  the  rest  of  her  family 
there  seemed  to  be  nothing  to  do.  Delight  had 
a  headache,  brought  on  probably  by  the  excite- 
ment of  the  day  before,  and  she  didn't  feel  like 
playing  princess. 


MISS  HART  HELPS  17? 

There  was  no  use  finishing  the  valentines,  for 
Doctor  Mendel  said  they  must  not  send  them  to 
anybody. 

Miss  Hart  was  in  her  own  room,  and  the  morn- 
ing dragged. 

Marjorie  almost  wished  she  could  go  to  school, 
and  she  certainly  wished  she  could  go  out  to 
play.  But  the  doctor's  orders  were  strict  against 
their  leaving  the  house,  so  she  sat  down  in  the 
library  to  read  a  story-book.  Delight  wandered 
in. 

"  I  think  you  might  entertain  me,"  she  said ; 
'*  my  head  aches  awfully." 

"Shall  I  read  to  you?"  asked  Midget.  She 
had  had  little  experience  with  headaches,  and 
didn't  quite  know  what  to  do  for  them. 

"  Yes,  read  a  fairy  story." 

So  Midget  good-naturedly  laid  aside  her  own 
book,  and  read  aloud  to  Delight  until  her  throat 
was  tired. 

"  Go  on,"  said  Delight,  as  she  paused. 

"  I  can't,"  said  Midget,  "  for  it  hurts  my 
throat." 

"  Oh,  pshaw,  what  a  fuss  you  are !  I  think 
you  might  read ;  it's  the  only  thing  that  makes  me 
forget  my  headache." 


178         MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

So  Mar j one  began  again,  and  read  until  De- 
light fell  asleep. 

"  I'm  glad  I  kept  on,"  thought  Midget  to  her- 
self; "  though  it  did  make  my  throat  all  scratchy. 
But  I  mustn't  be  sorry  for  myself,  so  I'm  glad 
I  was  sorry  for  Delight.  Maybe  a  little  nap  will 
make  her  head  better." 


CHAPTER 

GOLDFISH    AND    KITTENS 

LEAVING  Delight  asleep,  Marjorie  wandered  out 
to  the  dining-room,  where  Mrs.  Spencer  was  as- 
sisting the  waitress  in  her  duties.  As  Maggie 
was  not  allowed  to  leave  the  sick-room,  Mary,  the 
waitress,  did  the  cooking,  and  this  left  many 
smaller  offices  to  be  performed  by  Mrs.  Spencer. 

"  Can't  I  help  you?  "  asked  Marjorie,  who  was 
at  her  wits'  end  for  occupation. 

Usually,  she  could  entertain  herself  for  any 
length  of  time,  but  the  strangeness  of  her  sur- 
roundings, and  a  general  feeling  of  homesickness 
made  books  or  games  unattractive. 

"Why,  no,  Marjorie;  little  girls  can't  help," 
said  Mrs.  Spencer,  who  never  thought  of  calling 
on  Delight  for  assistance. 

"  Oh,  yes,  I  can ;  truly  I  can  do  lots  of  things. 
Mayn't  I  put  away  that  silver?  " 

"  No ;  you  don't  know  where  it  belongs.  But  if 
you  want  to  help  me,  can't  you  attend  to  Delight's 
179 


180         MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

canary?  He  hasn't  had  his  bath,  and  Mary  is 
too  busy  to  do  it.  Do  you  know  how?  " 

"  Oh,  yes ;  I  often  give  our  bird  his  bath,  and 
clean  his  cage,  and  give  him  fresh  seed  and  water. 
Where  shall  I  find  the  birdseed?" 

"  In  the  small  cupboard  in  Delight's  playroom, 
the  room  where  the  bird  is,  you  kn«w." 

"  Yes'm,  I  know." 

Marjorie  ran  upstairs,  interested  in  this  work, 
and  taking  the  cage  from  its  hook,  set  it  on  the 
table.  She  found  the  little  bathtub  and  filled  it 
with  water  of  just  the  right  warmth,  and  taking 
the  upper  part  of  the  cage  from  its  base,  set  it 
over  the  tub,  which  she  had  carefully  placed  on 
a  large  newspaper. 

"  There,"  she  said,  "  spatter  away  as  much  as 
you  like,  while  I  cut  a  nice  round  paper  carpet 
for  your  cage.  I  don't  know  your  name,  but  I 
shall  call  you  Buttercup,  because  you're  so 
yellow." 

The  bird  cocked  his  black  eye  at  her,  and  seemed 
to  approve  of  his  new  attendant,  for  he  hopped 
into  his  bath,  and  splashed  the  water  vigorously. 

"  You're  a  nice  little  Buttercup,"  went  on 
Midget;  "some  bad  little  birdies  won't  jump  in 
and  bathe.  There,  I  think  that's  enough:  you'll 


GOLDFISH  AND  KITTENS          181 

wash  all  your  feathers  off!  Here  you  go  back 
home  again." 

She  replaced  the  cage,  filled  the  seed  and  water 
vases,  and  hung  it  back  on  its  hook. 

Midget  was  a  capable  little  girl,  and  she  took 
away  the  bathtub,  and  tidied  up  all  traces  of  her 
work,  as  neatly  as  Mary  could  have  done.  Then 
she  looked  around  for  more  worlds  to  con- 
quer. 

She  saw  the  aquarium,  a  small  round  one,  all 
of  glass,  in  which  were  four  goldfish. 

"  I  think  I'll  give  you  a  bath,"  said  Midget  to 
the  fishes,  laughing  at  the  absurdity  of  the  idea. 
But  as  she  stood  watching  them,  she  observed  the 
green  mossy  slime  that  covered  the  stones  and 
shells  at  the  bottom  of  the  aquarium,  and  it  oc- 
uurred  to  her  that  it  would  be  a  good  idea  to 
clean  them. 

*'  There's  a  small  scrubbing-brush  in  the  bath- 
room," she  said  to  herself,  "  and  I  can  scrub  them 
clean,  and  put  in  fresh  water,  and  Mrs.  Spencer 
will  be  so  surprised  and  pleased." 

She  was  about  to  bring  a  bowl  of  water  from 
the  bathroom  to  put  the  stones  in  while  she 
scrubbed  them,  but  she  thought  since  there  was 
already  water  in  the  glass,  she  might  as  well  use 


182         MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

that,  and  then  get  clean  water  for  the  fishes 
afterward. 

"  But  I  don't  believe  they'll  like  the  soap,"  she 
thought,  as,  scrub-brush  in  hand,  she  was  about 
to  dip  the  soap  in  the  water.  "  So  I'll  lay  them 
aside  while  I  scrub." 

Marjorie  had  never  had  any  goldfish,  and  knew 
nothing  about  them,  so  with  no  thought  save  to 
handle  them  gently,  she  took  them  out  of  the  water, 
and  laid  them  on  the  table  in  the  sunlight. 

She  caught  them  by  the  simple  process  of  using 
her  handkerchief  as  a  drag-net,  and  with  great 
care,  laid  them  softly  down  on  the  felt  table-cover. 

"  There,  fishies,"  she  said,  "  don't  take  to  your 
heels  and  run  away.  I'll  soon  clean  up  these 
dirty  old  stones  and  shells,  then  I'll  give  you  nice 
fresh  water,  and  put  you  back  home  again." 

The  stones  and  shells  did  look  better,  according 
to  Midget's  way  of  thinking,  after  she  had  vigor- 
ously scrubbed  the  moss  from  them.  They  shone 
glistening,  and  white,  and  she  put  them  back  in 
the  aquarium  and  filled  it  with  clean  water,  and 
then  went  for  the  fish. 

"  Ah,  taking  a  nap,  are  you?  "  she  said,  as  the 
four  lay  quiet  on  the  table.  But  when  she  care- 
fully put  them  back  in  the  water,  and  they  didn't 


GOLDFISH  AND  KITTENS          183 

wriggle  or  squirm  a  bit,  she  knew  at  once  they 
were  dead. 

"  You  horrid  things ! "  cried  Midget,  "  what 
did  you  go  and  die  for,  just  when  I  was  fixing 
up  your  cage  so  nice?  You're  not  really  dead, 
are  you  ?  Wake  up !  " 

She  poked  and  pinched  them  to  no  avail. 

"  Oh,  dear ! "  she  sighed,  "  whenever  I  try  to 
be  good  and  helpful,  I'm  bad  and  troublesome. 
Now  I  must  go  and  tell  Mrs.  Spencer  about  it.  I 
wonder  what  she'll  say.  I  wish  I  could  tell 
mother  first,  but  they'd  hear  me  on  the  telephone. 
Perhaps  the  old  things  will  come  alive  again. 
Maybe  they've  only  fainted." 

But  no  sign  of  life  came  from  the  four  victims, 
who  calmly  floated  on  top  of  the  water,  as  if  scorn- 
ing the  clean  white  stones  and  shells  below.  They 
looked  so  pretty  and  so  pathetic,  that  Marjorie 
burst  into  tears,  and  ran  downstairs  in  search  of 
Mrs.  Spencer.  That  lady  heard  the  tale  with  a 
look  of  mingled  amusement  and  annoyance  on  her 
face. 

"  I've  heard  you  were  a  mischievous  child,"  she 
said,  "  but  I  didn't  think  you'd  begin  your  pranks 
so  soon."* 

"  But  it   wasn't  pranks,   Mrs.   Spencer,"   said 


184         MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

Midget,  earnestly.  "  I  truly  wanted  to  be  help' 
ful,  and  I  fixed  the  bird's  cage  so  nicely,  I  thought 
I'd  fix  the  fishes'  cage  too." 

"  But  you  must  have  known  that  fishes  die  out 
of  water." 

"  No'm ;  I  didn't.  At  least, — it  seems  to  me 
now  that  I  ought  to  have  known  it,  but  I  didn't 
think  about  it  when  I  took  'em  out.  You  see,  I 
never  had  any  goldfish  of  my  own." 

"  Well,  don't  worry  about  it,  child.  It  can't 
be  helped  now.  But  I  suppose  Delight  will  fee? 
terribly.  She  was  so  fond  of  her  goldfish." 

"  I'm  sure  Father  will  let  me  give  her  some 
more,"  said  Midget,  "  but  I  suppose  she  won't  care 
for  any  others." 

She  went  back  to  the  library,  where  she  had  left 
Delight  asleep,  and  found  her  just  waking  up. 

"  Delight,"  she  said,  wanting  to  get  it  over  as 
soon  as  possible,  "  I've  killed  all  four  of  your 
goldfish ! " 

"  On  purpose  ?  "  said  Delight,  still  sleepy  and 
uncomprehending. 

"  No,  of  course  not.  It  was  an  accident.  I 
just  laid  them  on  the  table  while  I  cleaned  the 
aquarium,  and  they  fainted  away  and  staid 
fainted.  I  guess  they  must  have  been  sick  before." 


GOLDFISH  AND  KITTENS          185 

"  No,  they  weren't.  They  were  awfully  frisky 
yesterday.  I  think  you're  real  mean,  Mar- 
jorie." 

"  I'm  awful  sorry,  Delight,  truly  I  am.  But 
I'm  'most  sure  Father  will  let  me  give  you  other 
fish  to  make  up  for  them." 

"  But  they  won't  be  the  same  fish." 

**  No,  of  course  not.  But  we'll  get  prettier 
ones." 

"  Oh,  no,  you  needn't  get  any  fish  at  all.  I'd 
rather  have  a  kitten." 

**  Oh,  I  can  get  you  a  kitten  easily  enough. 
James  always  knows  where  to  get  them.  What 
color  do  you  want?  " 

"  Gray ;  Maltese,  you  know.  Will  he  get  it 
to-day?" 

"  I'll  ask  Mother  to  ask  him  to-day.  He'll  get 
it  soon,  I  know." 

"  All  right ;  I'd  heaps  rather  have  that  than  fish. 
I'm  tired  of  goldfish,  anyway.  You  can't  cuddle 
them  like  you  can  kittens.  And  I  never  had  a 
kitten." 

"  You  didn't !  Why,  Delight  Spencer !  I  never 
heard  of  a  girl  that  had  never  had  a  kitten !  I'll 
ask  Mother  to  see  about  it  right  away.  Do  yoj«« 
want  two?  " 


186         MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

"  Yes,  as  many  as  I  can  have.  I  ought  to  hare 
four  to  make  up  for  those  goldfish." 

"  You  can  have  four,  if  your  mother'll  let  you," 
said  Midget.  "  Ask  her." 

"  Oh,  she'll  let  me.  She  never  says  no  to  any- 
thing I  want.  Does  your  mother?  " 

"  Yes,  often.  But  then,  I  want  such  crazy 
things." 

"  So  do  I.  But  I  get  them.  Go  on  and  sea 
about  the  kittens." 

So  Midget  went  to  the  telephone  and  told  her 
mother  the  whole  story  about  the  goldfish. 

Mrs.  Maynard  was  surprised  at  Marjorie's  ig- 
norance  of  fish's  habits,  but  she  didn't  scold. 

"  I  do  think,"  she  said  "  that  you  should  have 
known  better;  but  of  course  I  know  you  didn't 
intend  to  harm  the  fish.  And  anyway  we  won't 
discuss  it  over  the  telephone.  I'll  wait  until  we're 
together  again." 

"  You'll  have  to  keep  a  list  of  all  my  mischiefs, 
Mother,"  said  Midget,  cheerfully ;  "  and  do  up 
the  scolding  and  punishing  all  at  once,  when  I  get 
home." 

"  Yes,  but  don't  get  into  mischief  while  you're 
over  there.  Do  try,  Marjorie,  to  behave  your- 
self." 


GOLDFISH  AND  KITTENS          187 

"  I  will,  Mother,  but  Pm  so  tired  of  staying 
here  I  don't  know  what  to  do.  Delight  heard  me 
say  that,  but  I  can't  help  it.  I  expect  she's  tired 
of  having  me  here." 

"  I  am  not ! "  declared  Delight ;  "  now  ask  her 
about  the  kittens." 

So  Marjorie  asked  her  mother  about  the  kittens, 
and  Mrs.  Maynard  promised  to  ask  James  to  see 
if  he  couldn't  find  some  that  would  be  glad  of  a 
good  home. 

And  so  anxious  was  James  to  please  his  dear 
Miss  Marjorie,  and  so  numerous  were  kittens 
among  James'  circle  of  personal  acquaintances, 
that  that  very  afternoon,  a  basket  was  set  on  the 
Spencer's  porch  and  the  door  bell  was  rung. 

Mary  opened  the  door  and  saw  the  basket,  well 
covered  over. 

"  The  saints  presarve  us !  "  she  cried ;  "  sure,  it's 
a  baby !  " 

She  brought  the  basket  in,  and  Mrs.  Spencer 
turned  back  the  folded  blanket,  and  disclosed  four 
roly-poly  kittens  all  cuddled  into  one  heap  of 
fur. 

"  Oh ! "  cried  Delight,  "  did  you  ever  see  any- 
thing so  lovely!  Midget,  I'm  so  glad  you  killed 
the  goldfish !  These  are  a  million  times  rfcer." 


"  But  you  could  have  had  these  too,"  said  Mar- 
jorie ;  "  and  anyway,  I'll  probably  put  these  m 
the  aquarium  and  drown  them,  by  mistake !  " 

"  Indeed  you  won't !  n  said  Delight,  cuddling  the 
little  balls  of  fur.  "Oh,  Mother,  aren't  they 
dear?  " 

"  They  are  very  cunning,"  answered  Mrs.  Spen- 
cer, "  and  I'm  glad  you  have  them.  Though  four 
seems  a  good  many.  Don't  you  want  to  give  them 
some  milk  ?  " 

"  Oh,  yes ;  and  we'll  teach  them  all  to  eat 
from  one  saucer,  so  they'll  be  loving  and  affec- 
tionate." 

The  kittens  showed  no  desire  to  be  other  than 
affectionate,  and  amicably  lapped  up  milk  from 
the  same  saucer,  without  dispute. 

There  was  one  white,  one  Maltese,  one  black, 
and  one  yellow,  and  Marjorie  felt  sure  James  had 
chosen  the  prettiest  he  corald  find. 

"  Now  to  name  them,"  said  Delight.  "  Let's 
choose  lovely  names.  You'll  help  us,  won't  you, 
Miss  Hart?" 

"  You  ought  to  call  the  white  one  Pop  Corn," 
said  Miss  Hart,  "  for  it's  just  like  a  big  kernel  of 
freshly  popped  corn." 

"  I  will,"  said  Delight,  "  for  it's  like  that;  but 


GOLDFISH  AND  KITTENS          189 

as  that's  a  hard  name  to  say,  I'll  call  her  Poppy 
for  short.  A  white  poppy,  you  know.  Now  the 
black  one  ?  " 

"  Blackberry,"  suggested  Marjorie,  and  that 
was  the  chosen  name.  The  yellow  one  was  named 
Goldenrod,  and  the  gray  one  Silverbell,  and  the 
four  together  made  as  pretty  a  picture  as  you 
could  imagine.  The  girls  spent  an  hour  or  more 
playing  with  them  and  watching  their  funny  an- 
tics, and  then  Miss  Hart  proposed  that  they 
crochet  balls  of  different  color  for  each  little 
cat. 

Mrs.  Spencer  provided  a  box  of  worsted  and 
they  chose  the  colors. 

A  red  ball  was  to  be  made  for  Blackberry,  and  a 
light  blue  one  for  Poppy.  Goldenrod  was  to  have 
a  yellow  one,  and  Silverbell  a  pink  one. 

Miss  Hart  showed  the  girls  how  to  crochet  a 
round  cover,  hooping  it  to  form  a  ball,  and  then 
stuffing  it  tightly  with  worsted  just  before  finish- 
ing it. 

They  made  the  four  balls  and  tried  to  teach  the 
kittens  to  remember  their  own  colors.  But  in 
this  they  were  not  very  successful,  as  the  kittens 
liked  the  balls  so  much  they  playetf  with  any  one 
they  could  catch. 


190         MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

When  Mr.  Maynard  came  home,  true  to  his 
word,  he  sent  Marjorie  a  gift. 

The  bell  rang,  and  there  on  the  doorstep  lay 
a  parcel. 

It  proved  to  contain  two  picture  puzzles. 

"  Oh,  goody !  "  cried  Midget.  "  These  are  just 
what  I  wanted.  I've  heard  about  them,  but  I've 
never  had  any,  and  Father  told  me  last  week  he'd 
get  me  one.  One's  for  you,  Delight,  and  one's  for 
me.  Which  do  you  choose?  " 

"  Left  hand,"  said  Delight,  as  Marjorie's  hands 
went  behind  her. 

"All  right;  here  it  is." 

"  But  I  don't  know  how  to  do  puzzles.  I  never 
saw  one  like  this." 

"  If  you  knew  how  to  do  it,  it  wouldn't  be  a 
puzzle.  I  don't  know  either;  but  we'll  learn." 

"  I'll  show  you  how  to  begin,"  said  Miss  Hart, 
"  Wait  a  minute." 

She  went  out  to  the  dining-room,  and  returned 
with  two  trays,  oblong,  square-cornered  and  of 
fairly  good  size. 

"  Make  your  puzzles  on  these,"  she  said,  "  and 
then  you  can  carry  them  around  while  working  on 
them,  if  you  want  to.  You  can't  do  that,  if  you 
make  them  right  on  the  table." 


GOLDFISH  AND  KITTENS          191 

So  with  the  trays  on  the  table  in  front  of  them 
the  girls  began.  Each  puzzle  had  about  a  hun- 
dred and  fifty  pieces,  and  they  were  not  easy 
ones.  Miss  Hart  showed  the/n  how  to  find 
pieces  that  fitted  each  other;  but  would  not 
help  them  after  the  first  two  or  three  bits  were 
joined,  for  she  said  the  fun  was  in  doing  it 
themselves. 

"  But  I  can't ! "  said  Midge,  looking  per- 
fectly hopeless ;  "  these  pieces  are  all  brownish 
and  greenish  and  I  don't  know  what  they 
are." 

"  I  see,"  said  Delight,  her  eyes  sparkling ;  "  you 
must  find  a  face,  or  something  that  you  can  tell 
what  it  is,  and  start  from  that." 

"  But  there  isn't  any  face  here,"  said  Midget; 
"  here's  one  eye, — if  it  is  an  eye !  " 

"  Begin  with  that,"  advised  Miss  Hart.  "  Find 
some  more  of  a  face  to  go  with  it." 

"  Oh,  yes ;  here's  a  nose  and  lips !  Why,  it 
just  fits  in! " 

Soon  the  two  children  were  absorbed  in  the 
fascinating  work.  It  was  a  novelty,  and  it  hap- 
pened to  appeal  to  both  of  them. 

"  Don't  look  at  each  other's  picture,"  warned 
Miss  Hart,  "  and  then,  when  both  are  done,  you 


192         MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

can  exchange  and  do  each  other's.  It's  no  fun  if 
you  see  the  picture  before  you  try  to  make 
it." 

"  Some  pieces  of  mine  must  be  missing,"  de- 
clared Marjorie;  "there's  no  piece  at  all  to  go 
into  this  long,  narrow  curving  space." 

Miss  Hart  smiled,  for  she  had  had  experience  in 
this  pastime. 

"  Everybody  thinks  pieces  are  lost  at  some 
stage  of  the  work,"  she  said ;  "  never  mind 
that  space,  Marjorie,  keep  on  with  the  other 
parts." 

"  Oh !  "  cried  Delight.  "  I  can  see  part  of  the 
picture  now !  It's  going  to  be  a " 

"  Don't  tell !  "  interrupted  Miss  Hart ;  "  after 
you've  each  done  both  of  them,  you  can  look  at 
the  finished  pictures  together.  But  now,  keep  it 
secret  what  the  pictures  are  about." 

So  the  work  went  on,  and  now  and  then  a 
chuckle  of  pleasure  or  an  exclamation  of  impa- 
tience would  tell  of  the  varying  fortunes  of  the 
workers. 

"  Oh !  "  cried  Delight.  "  I  just  touched  a  piece 
to  straighten  it,  and  I  joggled  the  whole  thing 
out  of  place !  " 

Then  Miss  Hart  showed  them  how  to  take  a 


GOLDFISH  AND  KITTENS 

ruler  and  straighten  the  edges, — if  the  edges  were 
built;  and  how  to  crowd  a  corner  down  into  a 
corner  of  the  tray,  and  so  keep  the  ^pieces  in 
place.  So  engrossed  were  the  two  that  Mrs^ 
Spencer  had  difficulty  to  persuade  them  to  come 
to  dinner. 

"  Oh,  Mother,"  cried  Delight,  "  do  wait  till  I 
find  this  lady's  other  arm.  I'm  sure  I  saw  it  a 
moment  ago." 

And  Marjorie  lingered,  looking  for  a  long  tri- 
angle with  a  notch  in  the  end. 

But  at  last  they  set  their  trays  carefully  away, 
at  different  ends  of  the  room,  and  even  laid  news- 
papers over  them,  so  they  shouldn't  see  each 
other's  puzzle. 

"  That's  the  most  fun  of  any  game  I  ever 
played,"  said  Delight,  as  she  took  her  seat  at  the 
table. 

"  I  think  so  too,"  said  Midge ;  "  are  there  many 
of  them  made,  Miss  Hart  ?  " 

"  Thousands,  my  dear.  And  all,  or  nearly  all, 
different." 

"When  we  finish  these,"  said  Delight,  "I'll 
ask  my  father  to  bring  us  some  more.  I  just  love 
to  do  them." 

M  You  musn't  do  too  many,"  said  Miss  Hart; 


194         MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

*'  that  stooping  position  is  not  good  for  little  girls 
if  kept  up  too  long  at  a  time." 

"  It  did  make  the  back  of  my  neck  ache,"  said 
Delight ;  "  but  I  don't  mind,  it's  such  fun  to  see 
the  picture  come." 


CHAPTER  XIV 

A    PLEASANT    SCHOOL 

THB  next  day  lessons  began.  Miss  Hart  and 
Mrs.  Spencer  agreed  that  it  would  be  better  for 
the  two  little  girls  to  have  regular  school  hours, 
and  Delight  was  glad  to  have  Marjorie  at  her 
lessons  with  her. 

Midge  herself  was  not  overpleased  at  the  pros- 
pect, but  her  parents  had  approved  of  the  plan, 
and  had  sent  over  her  school-books. 

The  play-room  was  used  as  a  school-room,  and 
a  pleasant  enough  room  it  was. 

When  the  girls  went  in,  at  nine  o'clock,  it  didn't 
seem  a  bit  like  school. 

Miss  Hart,  in  a  pretty  light  house-dress,  sat  in 
a  low  rocker  by  the  window.  There  was  nothing 
suggesting  a  desk,  and  on  a  near-by  table  were 
a  few  books  and  a  big  bowl  of  flowers. 

The  girls  sat  where  they  chose,  on  the  couch  or 
in  chairs,  and  as  Midget  told  her  mother  after- 
ward, it  seemed  more  like  a  children's  party  than 
school. 

196 


196         MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

"  First,  let's  read  a  story,"  said  Miss  Hart,  and 
Mar j one's  eyes  opened  wider  than  ever. 

"  Aren't  we  going  to  have  school  to-day?  "  she 
asked. 

"  Yes,  Marjorie;  this  is  school.  Here  are  your 
books, — we'll  each  have  one." 

She  gave  them  each  a  copy  of  a  pretty  looking 
book,  and  asked  them  to  open  it  at  a  certain 
page. 

Then  Miss  Hart  read  aloud  a  few  pages,  and 
the  girls  followed  her  in  their  own  books.  Then 
she  asked  Delight  to  read,  and  as  she  did  so,  Miss 
Hart  stopped  her  occasionally  to  advise  her  about 
her  manner  of  reading.  But  she  did  this  so  pleas- 
antly and  conversationally  that  it  didn't  seem  at 
all  like  a  reading-lesson,  although  that's  really 
what  it  was. 

Marjorie's  turn  came  next,  and  by  this  time  she 
had  become  so  interested  in  the  story,  that  she 
began  at  once,  and  read  so  fast,  that  she  went 
helter-skelter,  fairly  tumbling  over  herself  in  her 
haste. 

"  Wait,  Marjorie,  wait ! "  cried  Miss  Hart, 
laughing  at  her.  "  The  end  of  the  story  will 
keep;  it  isn't  going  to  run  away*  Don't  try  so 
hard  to  catch  it!" 


A  PLEASANT  SCHOOL  197 

Marjorie  smiled  herself,  as  she  slowed  down, 
and  tried  to  read  more  as  she  should. 

But  Miss  Hart  had  to  correct  her  many  times, 
for  Midget  was  not  a  good  reader,  and  did  not 
do  nearly  so  well  as  Delight. 

And  though  Miss  Hart's  corrections  were  pleas- 
antly and  gently  made,  she  was  quite  firm  about 
them,  and  insisted  that  Marjorie  should  modulate 
her  voice,  and  pronounce  her  words  just  as  she 
was  told. 

"  What  a  fine  story ! "  exclaimed  Delight,  as 
they  finished  it. 

"  Oh,  isn't  it  great !  "  exclaimed  Marjorie;  "  do 
you  call  this  book  a  '  Reader,'  Miss  Hart?  " 

"  Yes,  I  call  it  a  Reader.  But  then  I  call  any 
book  a  Reader  that  I  choose  to  have  my  pupils 
read  from.  This  book  is  named  '  Children's 
Stories  From  English  Literature,'  so  you  see,  by 
using  it,  we  study  literature  and  learn  to  read  at 
the  same  time.  The  one  we  read  to-day,  '  The 
Story  of  Robin  Hood,'  is  a  story  you  ought  to 
know  well,  and  we  will  read  other  versions  of  it 
some  day.  Now,  we  will  talk  about  it  a  little." 

And  then  they  had  a  delightful  talk  about  the 
story  they  had  read,  and  Miss  Hart  told  them 
many  interesting  things  concerning  it,  and  the 


198         MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

children  asked  questions ;  and  then  Miss  Hart  had 
them  read  certain  portions  of  the  storj  «Cgain, 
and  this  time  she  said  Marjorie  read  much  better. 

"  For  I  understand  now,"  said  Midge,  "  what 
I'm  reading  about.  And,  oh,  Miss  Hart,  I'm 
crazy  to  tell  King  all  about  it!  He'll  just  love 
to  play  Robin  Hood ! " 

"  Yes,"  said  Miss  Hart,  "  it  makes  a  fine  game 
for  out-of-doors.  Perhaps  some  day  we'll  find  a 
story  that  we  can  play  indoors,  while  you  poor 
prisoners  are  kept  captive." 

Marjorie  gave  a  little  sigh  of  pleasure.  If  this 
was  school,  it  was  a  very  nice  kind  of  school  in- 
deed, but  she  supposed  that  arithmetic  and  spell- 
ing and  all  those  horrid  things  were  yet  to  come. 
And  sure  enough,  Miss  Hart's  next  words  brought 
sorrow  to  her  soul. 

"  Now,  girlies,  we'll  just  have  a  little  fun  with 
arithmetic.  I  happen  to  know  you  both  hate  it, 
so  perhaps  if  you  each  hold  a  kitten  in  your  arms 
it  will  cheer  your  drooping  spirits  a  little.*' 

Marjorie  laughed  outright  at  this.  Kittens  in 
school  were  funny  indeed ! 

"  Yes,"  said  Miss  Hart,  laughing  with  Mar- 
jorie, "  it's  like  Mary's  little  lamb,  you  know.  I 
never  forgave  Mary's  teacher  for  turning  him  out. 


A  PLEASANT  SCHOOL  199 

I  think  kittens  in  school  are  lovely.  I'll  hold  one 
myself." 

Then  the  girls  drew  nearer  to  Miss  Hart,  who 
had  a  large  pad  of  paper  and  a  pencil  but  no  book. 

And  how  she  did  it  Marjorie  jiever  knew,  but 
she  made  an  example  in  Partial  Payments  so  in- 
teresting, and  so  clear,  that  the  girls  not  only  un- 
derstood it,. but  thought  it  fun. 

Miss  Hart  said  she  was  Mr.  White,  and  the  two 
children  were  Mr.  Brown  and  Mr.  Green,  who  each 
owed  her  the  same  sum  of  money.  It  was  to  be 
paid  in  partial  payments,  and  the  sharp  and  busi- 
ness-like Mr.  White  insisted  on  proper  payments 
and  exact  interest  from  the  other  two  gentlemen, 
who  vied  with  each  other  to  tell  first  how  much  was 
due  Mr.  White.  There  was  some  laughing  at  first, 
but  the  fun  changed  to  earnest,  and  even  the  kit- 
tens were  forgotten  while  the  important  debts  were 
being  paid. 

"  Good-bye,  arithmetic ! "  cried  Miss  Hart,  as  the 
problem  entirely  finished,  and  thoroughly  under- 
stood, she  tossed  the  papers  aside ;  "  good-bye  for 
to-day!  Now,  for  something  pleasanter." 

"  But  that  was  pleasant,  Miss  Hart,"  said  Mar- 
jorie ;  "  I  didn't  think  arithmetic  could  ever  be 
pleasant,  but  it  was.  How  did  you  make  it  so?  " 


200         MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

"  Because  I  had  such  pleasant  little  pupils,  I 
think,"  said  Miss  Hart,  smiling.  "  Now  for  a  few 
calisthenics  with  open  windows." 

The  windows  were  flung  up,  and  under  Miss 
Hart's  leadership  they  went  through  a  short  gym- 
nastic drill. 

"  Doesn't  that  make  you  feel  good?  "  said  Mar- 
jorie,  all  aglow  with  the  exercise,  as  they  closed  the 
windows,  and  sat  down  again. 

"  That's  no  sort  of  a  drill,  really,"  said  Miss 
Hart ;  "  but  it  will  do  for  to-day.  When  we  get 
fairly  started,  we'll  have  gymnastics  that  will  be  a 
lot  more  fun  than  that.  But  now  for  our  botany 
lesson." 

"  Botany !  "  cried  Midge ;  "  I've  never  studied 
that ! " 

"  Nor  I,"  said  Delight,  "  and  I  haven't  any 
book." 

"  Here's  the  book,"  said  Miss  Hart,  taking  a 
large  white  daisy  from  the  bowl  of  flowers  on  the 
table. 

"  How  many  leaves  has  it  ?  " 

The  girls  guessed  at  the  number  of  petals,  but 
neither  guessed  right.  Then  they  sat  down  in 
front  of  Miss  Hart,  and  she  told  them  all  about 
the  pretty  blossom. 


A  PLEASANT  SCHOOL  201 

She  broke  it  apart,  telling  them  the  names  of 
petals,  sepals,  corolla  and  all  the  various  tiny 
parts. 

The  two  children  looked  and  listened  breath- 
lessly. They  could  scarcely  believe  the  yellow 
centre  was  itself  made  up  of  tiny  flowers. 

It  was  all  so  interesting  and  so  wonderful,  and, 
too,  so  new  to  them  both. 

"Is  that  botany?"  said  Marjorie,  with  wide- 
open  eyes. 

"  Yes ;  that's  my  idea  of  teaching  botany. 
Text-books  are  so  dry  and  dull,  I  think." 

"  So  do  I,"  said  Midge ;  "  I  looked  in  a  botany 
book  once,  and  it  was  awful  poky.  Tell  us  more, 
Miss  Hart." 

"*  Not  to-day,  dearie ;  it's  one  o'clock,  and 
school  is  over  for  to-day." 

"  One  o'clock ! "  both  girls  exclaimed  at  once ; 
*  it  can't  be !  " 

But  it  was,  and  as  they  scampered  away  to  make 
themselves  tidy  for  luncheon,  Marjorie  said:  "  Oh! 
isn't  she  lovely !  Do  you  always  have  a  governess 
like  that,  Delight?" 

"  No,  indeed !  My  last  one  was  strict  and  stern, 
and  just  heard  my  lessons  out  of  books.  And  if  I 
missed  a  word  she  scolded  fearfully." 


202         MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

"  I  never  saw  anybody  like  Miss  Hart !  whj  that 
kind  of  school  is  play." 

"  Yes,  I  think  so  too.  And  it's  lovely  t»  have 
you  here.  It's  so  much  more  interesting  than  to 
have  my  lessons  alone." 

"  Oh,  Miss  Hart  would  make  it  interesting  for 
anybody,  alone  or  not.  But  I'll  be  here  for  two 
weeks,  I  suppose.  I  don't  mind  it  so  much  if  we 
have  school  like  that  every  day." 

"  And  picture  puzzles  every  evening." 

"  Yes,  and  kittens  all  day  long ! "  Marjorie 
picked  up  two  or  three  of  the  furry  little  balls, 
that  were  always  under  foot,  and  squeezed  them. 

At  luncheon  they  gave  Mrs.  Spencer  such  a 
glowing  account  of  their  "  school "  that  Miss 
Hart  was  quite  overcome  by  their  praise. 

"  It's  all  because  they're  such  attentive  pupils," 
she  said  modestly. 

"  No,  it  isn't,"  said  Mrs.  Spencer.  "  I  knew 
what  a  kind  and  tactful  teacher  you  were  before 
you  came.  A  little  bird  told  me." 

"  Now  how  did  the  bird  know  that?  "  said  Miss 
Hart,  smiling,  and  Midget  wondered  if  Miss  Hart 
thought  Mrs.  Spencer  meant  a  real  bird. 

Afternoons  the  governess  always  had  to  herself. 
If  she  chose  to  be  with  the  family,  she  might,  but 


A  PLEASANT  SCHOOL  203 

she  was  not  called  upon  for  any  duties.  So  after 
Midget  and  Delight  had  finished  their  picture 
puzzles,  and  had  exchanged,  and  done  each  other's, 
time  again  seemed  to  hang  heavily  on  their  hands. 

It  was  really  because  they  felt  imprisoned, 
rather  than  any  real  restraint.  Marjorie  wanted 
to  run  out  of  doors  and  play,  and  Delight  didn't 
know  exactly  what  she  did  want. 

They  were  allowed  to  walk  on  the  side  piazza,  if 
they  chose,  but  walking  up  and  down  a  short  porch 
was  no  fun,  and  so  they  fidgeted. 

"  Let's  get  up  a  good,  big  rousing  game,"  said 
Midget,  "  a  new  one." 

"  All  right,"  said  Delight,  "  let's." 

"  Can  we  go  all  over  the  house?  " 

"  Yes,  all  except  the  attic  and  kitchen." 

The  sick  child  and  his  mother  had  been  put  in 
two  rooms  in  the  third  story.  These  were  shut 
off  from  the  main  part  of  the  house,  and  were 
further  protected  by  sheets  sprinkled  with  car- 
bolic acid  which  hung  over  them. 

The  children  had  been  warned  to  keep  as  far  as 
possible  from  these  quarters,  but  the  front  of  the 
house  was  at  their  disposal. 

"  Let  me  see,"  said  Midget,  who  was  doing  some 
hard  thinking.  "  I  guess  we'll  play  *  Tourists.' ' 


204         MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

*'  How  do  you  play  it  ?  " 

"  I  don't  know  yet.  I'm  just  making  it  up. 
We're  the  tourists,  you  know;  and  the  house,  the 
whole  house  in  an  ocean  steamer.  First,  we  must 
get  our  wraps  and  rugs." 

Diligent  search  made  havoc  in  Mrs.  Spencer's 
cupboards,  but  resulted  in  a  fine  array  of  luggage. 

The  girls  dressed  themselves  up  in  Mrs.  Spen- 
cer's long  cats,  and  Mr.  Spencer's  caps,  tied  on 
with  motor-veils,  made  what  they  agreed  was  a  fine 
tourist  costume. 

In  shawl  straps  they  packed  afghans,  pillows, 
and  such  odds  and  ends  as  books  and  pictures,  and 
they  filled  travellings  bags  with  anything  they 
could  find. 

Loaded  down  with  their  luggage,  they  went 
down  in  the  front  hall,  where  Marjorie  said  the 
game  must  begin. 

"  Have  you  ever  been  on  an  ocean  steamer,  De- 
light? "  she  asked,  •)«{'  4J 

"  No ;  have  you  ?  " 

"  Yes.  I  haven't  sailed  on  one,  you  know,  but 
I  went  on  board  to  see  Aunt  Margaret  sail.  So  I 
know  how  they  are.  This  house  isn't  built  just 
right;  we'll  have  to  pretend  a  lot.  But  never 
mind  that." 


A  PLEASANT  SCHOOL  205 

"  No,  I  don't  mind.  Now  are  we  getting  on 
board?" 

*'  Yes,  here's  the  gang  plank.  Now  we  go  up- 
stairs to  the  main  saloon  and  decks.  Be  careful, 
the  ship  is  pitching  fearfully ! " 

Oblivious  to  the  fact  that  steamers  don't  usually 
pitch  fearfully  while  in  port,  the  two  travellers 
staggered  up  the  staircase,  tumbling  violently 
from  side  to  side. 

"  Oh,  one  of  my  children  has  fallen  overboard !  " 
cried  Delight,  as  she  purposely  dropped  Goldenrod 
over  the  banister. 

"Man  overboard!"  cried  Marjorie,  promptly. 
"  A  thousand  dollars  reward !  Who  can  save  the 
precious  child  ? "  Swiftly  changing  from  a 
tourist  to  a  common  sailor,  Marjorie  plunged 
into  the  waves,  and  swam  after  the  fast-disap- 
pearing Goldenrod.  She  caught  the  kitten  by 
its  tail,  ae  it  was  creeping  unier  a  sofa,  and 
triumphantly  brought  b  .ck  to  the  weeping 
mother. 

"  Bless  you,  good  man ! "  cried  Delight,  her  face 
buried  in  her  handkerchief.  "  I  will  reward  you 
with  a  thousand  golden  ducats." 

"  I  ask  no  reward,  ma'am ;  'twas  but  my  humble 
duty." 


206         MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

"  Say  not  so !  You  have  rendered  me  a  service 
untold  by  gold." 

Delight's  diction  often  became  a  little  uncertain, 
but  if  it  sounded  well,  that  was  no  matter. 

"  My  cabin  is  forty-two,"  said  Marjorie,  who 
was  once  more  a  tourist,  on  her  way  upstairs. 

"  Here  is  a  steward,"  said  Delight,  "  he  will 
show  us  the  way." 

The  steward  was  invisible,  but  either  of  the  girls 
spoke  in  his  voice,  as  occasion  demanded. 

"  This  way,  madam,"  said  Midget,  as  she  led 
Delight  to  the  door  of  her  own  room.  "  This  is 
your  stateroom,  and  I  hope  it  will  suit  you." 

"  Is  it  an  outside  one?  "  asked  Delight,  who  had 
travelled  on  night  boats,  though  not  across  the 
ocean. 

"  Yes,  ma'am.  Outside  and  inside  both.  Where 
is  your  steamer  trunk?  " 

"  It  will  be  sent  up,  I  suppose." 

"  Yes,  ma'am.  Very  good,  ma'am.  Now,  you 
can  be  steward  to  me,  Delight." 

"  Shure.  This  way,  mum.  It's  Oirish,  I  am, 
but  me  heart  is  warrum.  Shall  I  carry  the  baby 
for  ye?  " 

"  Yes,"  said  Midget,  giggling  at  Delight's  Irish 
brogue,  which  was  always  funny ;  "  but  be  careful. 


A  PLEASANT  SCHOOL  207 

The  child  isn't  well."  The  child  was  Blackberry, 
who  was  dressed  in  large  white  muffler  of  Mrs. 
Spencer's  pinned  'round  its  neck. 

"  The  saints  presarve  us,  mum !  Ye've  got  the 
wrong  baby  !  This  is  a  black  one,  mum !  " 

"  That's  all  right,"  said  Midget.  "  She's  only 
wearing  a  black  veil,  to, — tr  keep  off  the  cold  air." 

"  Yis,  mum.  Now,  here's  j  er  stateroom,  mum, 
and  'tis  the  captain's  own.  He  do  be  givin'  it  to 
you,  'cause  ye'r  such  a  foine  lady." 

"Yes,  I  am;"  said  Marjorie,  complacc^Jv. 
"  I'm  Lady  Daffodil  of— of  Bombay." 

"  Ye  look  it !  And  now  if  ye'll  excuse  me,  mum, 
I'll  go  and  get  the  other  passengers  to  rights." 

Delight  slipped  back  to  her  stateroom,  and  re- 
turned with  Goldenrod  in  her  arms.  She  met  Mar- 
jorie in  the  hall. 

"  I  think  I  have  met  you  before,"  she  said,  bow- 
ing politely. 

"  Yes,"  said  Marjorie,  in  a  haughty  voice,  "  we 
met  at  the  Earl's  ball.  I  am  Lady  Daffodil." 

"  Ah,  yes,  I  remember  you  now.  I  am  the 
Countess  of  Heliotrope." 

"  My  dear  Countess !  I'm  so  glad  to  see  you 
again.  Are  you  going  across?  " 

"  Why,  yes.  I  think  I  will." 


208         MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

"  I  think  you'll  have  to,  as  the  ship  has  already 
started.  Let  us  go  out  on  deck." 

As  they  were  well  bundled  up,  they  opened  the 
door  and  stepped  out  on  the  second  story  balcony. 
It  was  not  unlike  a  deck,  and  they  went  and  stood 
by  the  railing. 

"  The  sea  is  very  blue,  isn't  it  ?  "  said  Lady 
Daffodil,  looking  down  at  the  bare  ground  with 
patches  of  snow  here  and  there. 

"  Yes,  and  see  the  white  caps.  Oh,  we  shall  have 
a  fine  sail.  Are  you  ever  seasick?  " 

"  No ;  never !     Are  you  ?  " 

"  No ;  I  have  crossed  eighty-seven  times,  so  I'm 
used  to  it.  Did  you  know  there's  a  case  of  diph- 
theria on  board?  " 

"No,  is  that  so?" 

"  Yes.  Somebody  in  the  steerage,  I  believe. 
That's  why  we're  stopped  at  Quarantine." 

This  struck  both  girls  so  funny  that  they  had 
to  stop  and  giggle  at  it. 

"  My  precious  Goldenrod ! "  cried  the  Countess 
of  Heliotrope,  "  I  fear  she  will  catch  it ! " 

"  You'd  better  have  her  vaccinated  at  once. 
It's  a  sure  cure." 

'*  I  will.  But  let  us  go  inside,  the  sea-breeze  is 
too  strong  out  here." 


A  PLEASANT  SCHOOL  209 

The  game  seemed  full  of  possibilities,  and  the 
tourists  were  still  playing  it  when  dinner  time 
came. 

So  they  pretended  it  was  the  ship's  dining-saloon 
to  which  they  went,  and  Mrs.  Spencer  and  Miss 
Hart  were  strangers,  passengers  whom  they  had 
not  yet  met. 

The  game  once  explained  to  Miss  Hart,  she 
grasped  it  at  once,  and  played  her  part  to  per- 
fection. 

"  I  should  think,"  she  said,  finally,  "  that  some 
such  game  as  this  would  be  a  fine  way  to  study 
geography ! " 

"  Now  what  can  she  mean  by  that  ?  "  thought 
Marjorie. 


CHAPTER  XV 

A    SEA    TRIP 

As  the  days  went  by,  Mar jorie*  became  more  ac- 
customed to  her  new  surroundings,  and  felt  quite 
at  home  in  the  Spencer  household. 

The  baby's  illness  ran  its  course  and  though  the 
child  was  very  sick,  the  doctor  felt  hopeful  that 
they  could  keep  the  other  children  free  from 
infection.  Mrs.  Spencer  felt  keenly  the  trying 
situation,  but  Miss  Hart  was  so  bright  and  cheer- 
ful that  she  made  everybody  feel  happy. 

So,  as  far  as  the  two  little  girls  were  concerned, 
it  was  just  as  if  Marjorie  were  merely  making  a 
visit  to  Delight. 

The  children  were  becoming  very  much  at- 
tached to  each  other.  Delight  greatly  admired 
Marjorie's  enthusiastic,  go-ahead  ways,  and 
Midget  was  impressed  by  Delight's  quiet  way  of 
accomplishing  things. 

Both  were  clever,  capable  children,  and  could 
usually  do  whatever  they  set  out  to,  but  Marjorie 
210 


A  SEA  TRIP  211 

went  at  it  with  a  rush  and  a  whirl,  while  Delight 
was  more  slow  and  sure. 

But  Delight  was  of  a  selfish  disposition,  and 
this  was  very  foreign  toMarjorie's  wide  generosity 
of  spirit.  However,  she  concluded  it  must  be  be- 
cause Delight  was  an  only  child,  and  had  no 
brothers  or  sisters  to  consider. 

Marjorie's  own  brother  and  sister  were  very  at- 
tentive to  their  exiled  one.  A  dozen  times  a  day 
King  or  Kitty  would  telephone  the  latest  news 
from  school  or  home,  and  very  frequently  James 
would  cross  the  street  with  a  note  or  a  book  or  a 
funny  picture  for  Midget,  from  some  of  the  May- 
nards.  So  the  days  didn't  drag;  and  as  for  the 
morning  hours,  they  were  the  best  of  all. 

"  It's  like  a  party  every  day,"  said  Marjorie  to 
her  mother,  over  the  telephone.  "  Miss  Hart  is  so 
lovely,  and  not  a  bit  like  a  school-teacher.  We 
never  have  regular  times  for  any  lesson.  She  just 
picks  out  whatever  lesson  she  wants  to,  and  we  have 
that.  Last  night  we  bundled  up  and  went  out  on 
the  upper  balcony  and  studied  astronomy.  She 
showed  us  Orion,  and  lots  of  other  constitutions,  or 
whatever  you  call  them.  Of  course  we  don't  have 
school  evenings,  but  that  was  sort  of  extra.  Oh, 
Mother,  she  is  just  lovely!" 


212         MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

"  I'm  so  glad,  my  Midget,  that  you're  enjoying 
your  lessons.  Do  you  practice  every  day  ?  " 

"  Yes,  Mother ;  an  hour  every  afternoon.  Miss 
Hart  helps  me  a  little  with  that,  too,  and  Delight 
and  I  are  learning  a  duet." 

"  That's  fine !  And  you  don't  get  into  mis- 
chief? " 

"  No, — at  least  not  much.  I  shut  one  of  the 
kittens  up  in  a  bureau  drawer  and  forgot  her ;  but 
Miss  Hart  found  her  before  she  got  very  dead, 
and  she  livened  her  up  again.  So,  that's  all 
right." 

"  Not  quite  all  right ;  but  I'm  sure  you  won't 
do  it  again.  I  can't  seem  to  scold  you  when  you're 
away  from  me,  so  do  try  to  be  a  good  girl,  won't 
you,  my  Midget." 

"  Yes,  Mother,  I  truly  will." 

And  she  did.  Partly  because  of  the  restraint  of 
visiting,  and  partly  by  her  own  endeavors,  Mar- 
jorie  was,  on  the  whole,  as  well-behaved  a  child  as 
any  one  could  wish.  And  if  she  taught  Delight 
more  energetic  and  noisy  games  than  she  had  ever 
heard  before,  they  really  were  beneficial  to  the  too 
quiet  little  girl. 

One  day  they  discovered  what  Miss  Hart  meant 
by  using  their  steamer  game  for  geography  lessons. 


A  SEA  TRIP  213 

During  school  hours  she  proposed  that  they  all 
play  the  steamer  game. 

Very  willingly  the  girls  arrayed  themselves  in 
wraps  and  caps,  Miss  Hart  also  wearing  tourist 
garb,  and  with  shawl  straps  and  bundles,  and  with 
the  kittens,  also  well  wrapped  up,  they  boarded  the 
steamer. 

Miss  Hart,  who  pretended  to  be  a  stranger  with 
whom  they  became  acquainted  on  board,  told  them 
they  were  taking  the  Mediterranean  trip  to  Naples. 

The  school-room  was,  of  course,  the  principal 
saloon  of  the  boat,  and  as  the  passengers  sat  round 
a  table,  Miss  Hart,  by  means  of  a  real  steamer 
chart,  showed  them  the  course  they  were  taking 
across  the  Atlantic. 

Time  of  course  was  not  real,  and  soon  they  had 
to  pretend  they  had  been  at  sea  for  a  week  or  more. 

Then  Miss  Hart  said  they  were  nearing  the 
Azores  and  would  stop  there  for  a  short  time. 

So  they  left  the  steamer,  in  imagination,  and 
Miss  Hart  described  to  them  the  beauties  and  at- 
tractions of  these  islands.  She  had  photographs 
and  post  cards,  and  pressed  blossoms  of  the  mar- 
vellous flowers  that  grow  there.  So  graphic  were 
her  descriptions  that  the  girls  almost  felt  they  had 
really  been  there. 


MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

"  To-morrow,"  she  said,  as  they  returned  to  the 
ship,  "  we  shall  reach  Gibraltar.  There  we  will 
get  off  and  stay  several  hours,  and  I'm  sure  you 
will  enjoy  it." 

And  enjoy  it  they  certainly  did.  Next  day  it 
occurred,  and  when  they  left  the  ship  to  visit  Gib- 
raltar, they  were  taken  to  Miss  Hart's  own 
room,  which  she  had  previously  arranged  for 
them. 

Here  they  found  pictures  of  all  the  interesting 
points  in  or  near  Gibraltar.  There  were  views  of 
the  great  rock,  and  Miss  Hart  told  them  the 
history  of  the  old  town,  afterward  questioning" 
them  about  it,  to  be  sure  they  remembered.  That 
was  always  part  of  her  queer  teaching,  to  question 
afterward,  but  it  was  easy  to  remember  things  so 
pleasantly  taught. 

She  showed  them  pieces  of  beautiful  Maltese 
lace,  explaining  how  it  was  made,  and  why  it  was 
sold  at  Gibraltar,  and  she  showed  them  pictures  of 
the  Moors  in  their  strange  garb,  and  told  of  their 
history.  The  luncheon  bell  sent  them  scurrying 
to  the  ship's  dining-room,  and  they  begged  of  Miss 
Hart  that  they  might  go  on  to  Naples  next  day. 

But  she  said  that  geography  mustn't  monopolize 
all  the  days,  and  next  day,  although  she  wasn't 


A  SEA  TRIP  215 

sure,  probably  there  would  be  a  session  with  Mr. 
Arithmetic. 

"  I  don't  care,"  said  Midget,  happily,  "  I  know 
we'll  have  a  lovely  time,  even  if  it  is  arithmetic." 

Valentine's  Day  came  before  the  quarantine  was 
raised. 

Marjorie  was  very  sorry  for  this,  for  the  doctor 
had  said  that  after  a  few  days  more  she  could  go 
home,  and  it  seemed  as  if  she  might  have  gone  for 
the  fourteenth. 

But  he  would  not  allow  it,  so  there  was  nothing 
to  do  but  make  the  best  of  it. 

The  night  before  Valentine's  Day,  however,  she 
did  feel  a  bit  blue,  as  she  thought  of  King  and 
Kitty  and  even  Rosy  Posy  addressing  their  valen- 
tines, and  making  a  frolic  of  it  as  they  always 
did. 

And  she  thought  of  her  father,  who  was  always 
ready  to  help  on  such  occasions,  making  verses, 
and  printing  them  in  his  fine,  neat  handwriting. 
Of  course,  they  would  send  some  to  her, — she  knew 
that, — but  she  was  losing  all  the  jolly  family  fun, 
and  it  seemed  a  pity. 

And  then  the  telephone  rang,  and  it  was  her 
father  calling  for  her. 

"  Hello,  Midget,"  came  his  cheery  voice  over  the 


«16         MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

wire ;  "  now  I  wonder  if  a  little  girl  about  your 
size  isn't  feeling  sorry  for  herself  this  evening." 

"  I'm  afraid  I  am,  Father,  but  I'm  trying 
not  to." 

"  Good  for  you,  Sister !  Now  don't  bother  to 
do  it,  for  I  can  tell  you  I'm  feeling  so  sorry  for 
you  that  it's  unnecessary  for  anybody  else  to  do 
that  same.  Now  I'll  tell  you  something  to  chirk 
you  up.  I  suppose  you  have  lessons  to-morrow 
morning?  " 

"  Yes ;  Miss  Hart  said  we  could  have  a  holiday 
if  we  chose,  but  we  didn't  choose.  So  we're  gO" 
ing  to  have  special  valentiney  lessons, — I  don't 
know  what  they'll  be." 

"  All  right ;  and  in  the  afternoon,  I  shall  send 
you  over  a  valentine  party.  No  people,  you 
know,  they're  not  allowed;  but  all  the  rest  of  a 
nice  valentine  party." 

"  Why,  Father,  how  can  we  have  a  party  with* 
out  people  ?  " 

"Easily  enough.  I'll  attend  to  that.  Good" 
night,  now,  Midget.  Hop  to  bed,  and  dream 
hearts  and  darts  and  loves  and  doves  and  roses 
and  posies  and  all  such  things." 

"  All  right,  I  will.  Good-night,  Father  dear. 
Is  Mother  there  ?  " 


A  SEA  TRIP  217 

"  Yes,— hold  the  wire." 

So  Mrs.  Maynard  came  and  said  a  loving  good- 
night to  her  near  yet  faraway  daughter,  and 
Marjorie  went  to  bed  all  cheered  up,  instead  of 
lonely  and  despondent. 

St.  Valentine's  Day  was  a  fine,  crisp  winter 
day,  with  sunshine  dancing  on  the  snow,  and  blue 
sky  beaming  down  on  the  bare  branches  of  the 
trees. 

The  fun  began  at  breakfast-time,  when  every- 
body found  valentines  at  their  plates, — for  as 
Midge  and  Delight  agreed,  they  had  made  so 
many,  and  they  must  use  them  up  somehow.  So 
Miss  Hart  and  Mrs.  Spencer  received  several  in 
the  course  of  the  day ;  two  were  surreptitiously 
stuffed  into  Doctor  Mendel's  coat  pockets,  and  the 
kittens  each  received  some. 

Lessons  that  morning  were  not  really  lessons 
at  all.  Miss  Hart  called  it  a  Literature  Class. 

First  she  told  the  girls  about  the  origin  of 
valentines,  and  how  they  happened  to  be  named 
for  St.  Valentine,  and  why  he  was  chosen  as  the 
patron  saint  of  love.  Then  she  read  them  some 
celebrated  valentines  written  by  great  poets,  and 
the  girls  had  to  read  them  after  her,  with  great 
care  as  to  their  elocution. 


218         MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

She  showed  them  some  curious  valentines,  whose 
initials  spelled  names  or  words,  and  were  called 
acrostics,  and  told  of  some  quaint  old-fashioned 
valentines  that  had  been  sent  to  her  grandmother. 

"  And  now,"  she  said  finally,  "  we've  had 
enough  of  the  sentimental  side,  I  will  read  you  a 
funny  valentine  story." 

So,  in  her  whimsical,  dramatic  fashion,  she 
read  the  tragic  tale  of  Mr.  Todgers  and  Miss  Tee. 

"  In  the  town  of  Slocum  Pocum,  eighteen-seventy  A.D., 
Lived  Mr.  Thomas  Todgers  and  Miss  Thomasina  Tee; 
The  lady  blithely  owned  to  forty-something  in  the  shade, 
While    Todgers,    chuckling,    called    himself    a    rusty-eating 

blade, 

And  on  the  village  green  they  lived  in  two  adjacent  cots, 
Adorned  with  green  Venetians  and  vermilion  flower  pots. 

"  No  doubt  you've  heard  it  stated — 'tis  an  aphorism  trite — 

That  people  who  live  neighborly  in  daily  sound  and  sight 

Of  each  other's  personality,  habitually  grow 

To  look  alike,  and  think  alike,  and  act  alike,  and  so 

Did  Mr.  Thomas  Todgers  and  Miss  Thomasina  Tee, 

In  the  town  of  Slocum  Pocum,  eighteen-seventy  A.D. 

**  Now  Todgers  always  breakfasted  at  twenty-five  to  eight, 
At  seven-thirty-five  Miss  Tee  poured  out  her  chocolate; 
And  Todgers  at  nine-thirty  yawned  '  Lights  out !    I'll  go  to 

bed.' 
At  half-past   nine   Miss   Tee   '  retired ' — a   word   she   used 

instead. 

Their  hours  were  identical  at  meals  and  church  and  chores, 
At  weeding  in  the  garden,  or  at  solitaire  indoors." 


A  SEA  TRIP  219 

" 'Twas  the  twelfth  of  February,  so  the  chronicler  avers; 
Mr.  Todgers  in  his  garden,  and   Miss  Tee,  of  course,  in 

hers; 

Both  assiduously  working,  both  no  doubt  upon  their  knees, 
Chanced  to  raise  their  eyes  together;  glances  met — and,  if 

you  please, 

Ere  one  could  say  Jack  Robinson !  tut-tut !  or  f ol-de-re ! 
Thomasina  loved  Mr.  Todgers ;  Mr.  Todgers  loved  Miss  Tee ! 

"  Two  heads  with  but  a  single  thought  went  bobbing  to  the 

dust, 

And  Todgers  smiled  sub  rosa,  and  Miss  Thomasina  blushed; 
Then  they  seized  their  garden  tackle  and  incontinently  fled 
Down  the  box-edged  pathways  past  the  flower  pots  of 

red; 
Past  the  vivid  green  Venetians,  past  the  window  curtains 

white, 
Into  their  respective  dwellings,  and  were  seen  no  more  that 

night. 

"  All  that  night  poor  love-sick  Todgers  tried  his  new-born 
hopes  to  quell, 

And  Miss  Tee  made  resolutions,  but  she  did  not  make  them 
well, 

For  they  went  to  smash  at  daybreak,  and  she  softly  mur- 
mured '  'Tis 

Kismet!  Fate!  Predestination!  If  he'll  have  me  I  am 
his.' 

While  Todgers  sang  '  There's  Only  One  Girl  in  This  World 
for  Me,' 

Or  its  music  hall  equivalent  in  eighteen-seventy. 

"  It  was  February  thirteenth  (On,  my  Pegasus !  Nor  balk 
At  that  fear-inspiring  figure!)  Thomasina  took  a  walk, 


220         MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

And  Fate  drew  her — drew  her — drew  her  by  a  thousand 

spidery  lines 

To  a  Slocum  Pocum  window  filled  chockful  of  valentines, 
All  gaudy — save  two,  just  alike  in  color,  shape  and  size, 
Which  pressed  against  the  window  pane  and  caught  the 

lady's  eyes. 

" '  How    chaste !      How    charming !      How    complete ! '    she 

cried.     '  It  must  be  mine ! 

I'll  tell  my  love  to  Thomas  in  this  lovely  valentine, 
Whereon  is  suitably  inscribed,  in  letters  fine  and  free, 
"SEND    BACK    THIS    TENDER    TOKEN    IF    YOU 

CANNOT  MARRY  ME." ' 

So  with  her  cheeks  all  rosy,  and  her  pulses  all  astir, 
She  went  in  and  brought  the  valentine  and  took  it  home 

with  her. 


"  Ten  minutes  later  Thomas  paused  outside  the  self -same 

store. 
You  guess  the  rest.     Fate  grappled  him  and  pushed  him 

through  the  door, 

And  made  him  buy  the  fellow  to  the  very  valentine 
Which   Thomasina  had   purchased   there  at  twenty-five   to 

nine. 
He  chuckled  (and  Fate  chuckled)  the  appropriate  words  to 

see — 
'SEND    BACK    THIS    TENDER    TOKEN    IF    YOU 

CANNOT  MARRY  ME.' 

"  It  was  February  fourteenth,  and  the  postman's  rat-a-tat 
Made  two  hearts  in  Slocum  Pocum  beat  a  feverish  pit-pat. 
Thomas  and  Thomasina  each  in  turn  rushed  doorwards  and 
Snatched  their  respective  missives  from  the  post's  extended 
hand; 


A  SEA  TRIP 

And  the  postman,  wicked  rascal,  slowly  winked  the  other 

eye, 
And  said :  '  Seems  to  me  the  old  folks  is  a  gettin'  pretty 

spry.' 

"They  tore  the  letters  open.     'What  is  this?     Rejected! 

Spurned ! ' 
Both  thought  the  cards  before  them  were  their  valentines 

returned. 

And   Thomas   went  to  Africa,   and   Thomasina  to   Rome; 
And  other  tenants  came  to  fill  each  small  deserted  home. 
So  no  more  in  Slocum  Pocum  may  we  hope  again  to  see 
Poor  Mr.  Thomas  Todgers  and  poor  Thomasina  Tee." 

"  That's  awfully  funny,"  said  Delight,  as  Miss 
Hart  finished  reading,  "  but  I  should  think  they 
would  have  known  they  got  each  other's  valen- 
tine." 

"  I  shouldn't,"  said  Midge,  who  entered  more 
into  the  spirit  of  the  story ;  "  they  didn't  know 
each  other  sent  any,  so  each  thought  their  own 
was  returned.  Besides,  if  they  hadn't  thought 
so,  there  wouldn't  have  been  any  story." 

"  That's  so,"  said  Delight,  who  usually  agreed 
with  Marjorie,  finally. 

The  postman  brought  lots  of  valentines  for  the 
two  little  girls.  Delight's  were  almost  all  from 
her  friends  in  New  York,  although  some  of  the 
Rockwell  young  people  had  remembered  her  too. 


222         MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

Marjorie's  were  nearly  all  from  Rockwell,  and 
though  there  were  none  from  any  of  her  family, 
that  did  not  bother  her,  for  she  knew  they  would 
come  in  the  afternoon  for  the  "  party." 


CHAPTER  XVI 

A    VALENTINE    PAETY 

AT  four  o'clock  the  "  party  "  came.  Midget  and 
Delight,  watching  from  the  window,  saw  James 
and  Thomas  come  across  the  street,  bringing  be- 
tween them  a  great  big  something,  all  wrapped 
in  white  tissue  paper.  They  left  their  burden, 
whatever  it  was,  on  the  porch,  rang  the  door-bell, 
and  went  away. 

The  children  flew  to  the  door,  and,  with  the 
help  of  Mary  and  Miss  Hart,  they  brought  the 
big  thing  in. 

Though  bulky,  it  was  not  heavy,  and  they  set 
it  in  the  library  and  proceeded  to  take  off  the 
wrappings.  As  the  last  sheet  of  tissue  paper, 
was  removed,  shrieks  of  admiration  went  up  from 
the  girls,  and  Mrs.  Spencer  came  running  in  to 
see  what  the  excitement  was  about. 

She   saw   a   large  heart,  about  five  feet  high, 

made  on  a  light  wood  frame,  which  was  covered 

with  red  crepe  paper.     It  was  bordered  with  red 

and  white  gilt  flowers,  also  made  of  paper,  and 

223 


224         MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

at  the  top  was  a  big  bow  of  red  ribbon,  with  long 
fluttering  streamers.  On  top  of  the  heart,  on 
either  shoulder,  sat  two  beautiful  white  doves, 
which  were  real  doves,  stuffed,  and  they  held  in 
their  beaks  envelopes,  one  marked  Delight  and 
one  Marjorie. 

The  whole  affair  had  a  back  stay,  and  stood 
up  on  the  floor  like  an  easel.  The  paper  that 
covered  the  heart  was  put  on  in  folds,  like  tucks 
upside  down,  and  in  the  folds  were  thrust  many 
envelopes,  that  doubtless  contained  valentines. 
Between  and  among  these  were  little  cupids  and 
doves  fastened  on,  also  nosegays  of  flowers  and 
fluttering  ribbons,  and  hearts  pierced  with  darts, 
and  the  whole  effect  was  like  one  great  big 
valentine. 

Before  touching  the  envelopes,  Delight  and 
Marjorie  sat  on  the  floor,  their  arms  round  each 
other,  and  gazed  at  the  pretty  sight. 

"  Did  your  father  make  it?  "  asked  Delight. 

"  He  planned  it,  I'm  sure,"  replied  Marjorie. 
"  But  they  all  helped  make  it,  I  know.  I  suppose 
Father  had  the  frame  made  somewhere,  then  he 
and  Mother  covered  it,  and  Kit  and  King  helped 
make  the  flowers  and  things.  Oh,  I  wish  I'd  been 
there!" 


A  VALENTINE  PARTY  225 

"  Then  they  wouldn't  have  made  it ! "  said  De- 
light, quickly,  and  Midge  laughed,  and  said: 

"  No,  I  suppose  not.  Well,  shall  we  begin  to 
read  the  valentines?  " 

"  Yes,  but  let's  take  them  out  slowly,  and  make 
it  last  a  long  while." 

"  Yes,  for  this  is  our  '  party,'  you  know.  Oh, 
see,  these  envelopes  in  the  doves'  bills  say  on 
them,  '  To  be  opened  last.'  So  we'll  begin  with 
these  others.  You  take  one  with  your  name  on, 
first." 

So  Delight  pulled  out  an  envelope  that  was  ad- 
dressed to  her. 

It  contained  a  valentine  of  which  the  principal 
figure  was  a  pretty  little  girl,  something  like  De- 
light herself.  Inside  was  written : 

"  Flossy  Flouncy,  fair  and  fine, 
Let  me  be  your  Valentine. 
Here's  my  heart  laid  at  your   feet, 
Flossy  Flouncy,  fair  and  sweet." 

"  I  know  King  wrote  that !  "  cried  Midget ;  "  he 
always  calls  you  Flossy  Flouncy.  You  don't 
mind,  do  you?  " 

"  No,  indeed !  I  think  it's  fun.  I'm  going  to 
call  him  Old  King  Cole.  That  is,  if  I  ever  see 
him  again." 


226         MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

"  Oh,  pshaw !  We'll  be  out  of  this  prison  next 
week.  The  doctor  said  so.  And  you  must  come 
and  make  me  a  visit  to  even  things  up." 

"  Mother  wouldn't  let  me  go  to  your  house  to 
stay,  I'm  sure ;  but  I  can  go  over  afternoons  or 
Saturdays." 

"  Yes,  and  you'll  get  to  know  King  better. 
He's  an  awful  nice  boy." 

"  I'm  sure  he  is.     Now  you  take  a  valentine." 

Midget  pulled  out  the  biggest  one  that  was  ad- 
dressed to  her.  It  held  a  beautiful,  large  valen- 
tine, not  home-made,  but  of  most  elaborate  design. 

On  its  back,  though,  was  a  verse  written,  that 
Midge  knew  at  once  was  done  by  her  father.  It 

said: 

"Marjorie  Midget  Mopsy  Mops, 
I  have  looked  through  all  the  shops, 
Searching  for  a  Valentine 
Good  enough  for  Midget  Mine. 
This  is  the  best  that  I  could  do, 
So  here  it  is  with  my  love  so  true." 

"  Isn't  it  a  beauty ! "  cried  Midge ;  "  I  never 
had  such  a  handsome  one  before.  See  how  the 
flowers  are  tied  with  real  ribbons,  and  the  birds 
hop  in  and  out  of  their  cages." 

"  It's  splendid !  "  said  Delight,  "  and  here's  a 
big  one  for  me  too !  " 


A  VALENTINE  PARTY  227 

She  pulled  out  a  large  envelope,  addressed  to 
herself,  and  found  a  valentine  quite  as  beautiful 
as  Marjorie's  and  almost  exactly  like  it.  It  was 
from  her  father,  and  as  Mr.  Spencer  didn't  have 
the  knack  of  rhyming  as  well  as  Mr.  Maynard, 
he  had  written  on  the  back : 

"Dear  Delight, 
I   can't  write, 
But  I  send  you 
Affection  true, 
Yankee  Doodle  Doo ! " 

"  I  think  that's  funny  !  "  cried  Marjorie.  "  I 
love  funny  valentines." 

"So  do  I,"  agreed  Delight;  "and  I  didn't 
know  father  could  make  rhymes  as  well  as  that. 
He  must  have  learned  from  your  father." 

"  I  'spect  he  did.  Everybody  makes  verses  at 
our  house." 

Marjorie  smiled  to  think  of  the  grave  and  dig- 
nified Mr.  Spencer  learning  to  write  funny  rhymes, 
but  she  was  glad  Delight  had  a  big  valentine  like 
hers. 

Then  they  pulled  out  the  others,  by  turns. 
Some  were  lovely  ones  that  had  been  bought ;  some 
were  home-made  ones;  some  were  funny,  but  the 
funny  ones  were  home-made,  they  were  not  the 


228         MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

dreadful  things  that  are  called  "  comic  "  valen« 
tines. 

Then  there  were  valentines  from  Gladys  and 
her  brother  Dick,  which  had  been  delivered  by 
the  postman  at  Marjorie's  home,  and  sent  over 
with  the  others.  There  was  one  from  each  of 
the  home  servants,  who  were  all  fond  of  Midget, 
and  glad  to  send  her  a  token  of  remembrance. 
And  among  the  best  of  all  were  valentines  from 
Grandma  Sherwood  and  Uncle  Steve. 

Uncle  Steve  was  especially  clever  at  writing 
verses,  and  he  sent  several  valentines  to  both  the 
girls. 

One  bore  a  picture  of  two  weeping  maidens,  be- 
hind barred  windows  in  a  castle  tower.  The 
verses  ran  thus: 

"Two  Princesses  locked  in  a  tower, 

Alas,  alas  for  they! 
I  would  they  need  not  stay  an  hour, 

Nor  yet  another  day. 
But  to  a  lovely  rosy  bower 
The  two  might  fly  away. 

"  I  would  I  were  a  birdie  fleet 

That  I  might  wing  a  flight, 
And  bear  to  them  a  message  sweet 

Each  morning,  noon  and  night. 
'Twould  be  to  me  a  perfect  treat 

To  see  their  faces  bright. 


A  VALENTINE  PARTY  229 

"  But,  no,  in  their  far  home  they  stay, 

And  I  must  stay  in  mine; 
But  though  we  are  so  far  away 
Our  thoughts  we  may  entwine. 
And  I  will  send  this  little  lay 
From  your  fond 

VALENTINE." 

"  That's  lovely,"  said  Delight,  "  and  it's  for  me 
as  much  as  you.  What  jolly  relatives  you  have." 

"  Oh,  Uncle  Steve  is  wonderful.  He  can  do 
anything.  Sometime  perhaps  you  can  go  to  his 
house  with  me,  then  you'll  see.  Oh,  here's  a  pretty 
one,  listen." 

Midge  read  aloud: 

"  What  is  a  Valentine  ?    Tell  me,  pray. 
Only  a  fanciful  roundelay 
Bearing  a  message  from  one  to  another 
(This  time,  to  a  dear  little  girl  from  her  mother). 
Message  of  love  and  affection  true; 
This  is  a  Valentine,  I  LOVE  YOU ! " 

"  That's  sweet.     Did  your  mother  write  it  ?  " 
"  Yes,  Mother  makes  lovely  poetry.     Here's  a 
ridiculous  one  from  Kit." 

"  Marjorie,  Parjorie,  Pudding  and  Pie, 
Hurry  up  home,  or  I'll  have  to  cry. 
Since  you've  been  gone  I've  grown  so  thin 
I'm  nothing  at  all  but  bone  and  skin. 
So  hurry  up  home  if  you  have  any  pity 
For  your  poor  little  lonesome  sister 

KITTY." 


230         MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

"  Why,  I  thought  people  never  signed  valen- 
tines," said  Delight,  laughing  at  Kitty's  effusion, 

"  They  don't,  real  ones.  But  of  course  these 
are  just  nonsense  ones,  and  anyway  I  know  Kit's 
writing,  so  it  doesn't  matter." 

There  were  lots  of  others,  and  through  Marjorie, 
naturally,  had  more  than  Delight,  yet  there  were 
plenty  for  both  girls,  and  set  out  on  two  tables 
they  made  a  goodly  show.  Miss  Hart  was  called 
in  to  see  them,  but  she  answered  that  she  was 
busy  in  the  dining-room  just  then,  and  would 
come  in  a  few  moments. 

The  big  heart  that  had  held  the  valentines  wai 
not  at  all  marred,  but  rather  improved  by  their 
removal,  and  the  girls  admired  it  more  than  ever. 

"  But  we  haven't  taken  the  last  ones  yet,"  said 
Delight,  looking  at  the  two  envelopes  in  the  bill? 
of  the  doves.  They  took  them  at  the  same  time, 
and  opened  them  simultaneously. 

Each  contained  a  valentine  and  a  tiny  parcel 
The  valentines  were  exactly  alike,  and  their  verses 
read  the  same: 

"  This  is  a  Ring  Dove,  fair  and  white 
That  brings  this  gift  to  you  to-night. 
But  why  a  Ring  Dove,  you  may  ask; 
The  answer  is  an  easy  task. 


A  VALENTINE  PARTY  231 

Look  in  this  tiny  box  and  see 

What  has  the  Ring  Dove  brought  to  thee ! " 

Eagerly  the  girls  opened  the  boxes,  and  inside, 
on  a  bit  of  cotton  wool,  lay  two  lovely  rings  ex- 
actly alike.  They  were  set  with  a  little  heart 
made  of  tiny  pearls  and  turquoises,  and  they  just 
fitted  the  fingers  of  the  two  little  girls. 

"  Aren't  they  exquisite !  "  cried  Delight,  who 
loved  pretty  things. 

"  Beautiful ! "  agreed  Midge,  who  thought 
more  of  the  ring  as  a  souvenir.  "  We  can  always 
remember  to-day  by  them.  I  suppose  your  father 
sent  yours  and  my  father  sent  mine." 

"  Yes,  of  course  they  did.  Oh,  Miss  Hart,  do 
look  at  our  rings  and  valentines !  " 

Miss  Hart  came  in,  smiling,  and  proved  an  in- 
terested audience  of  one,  as  she  examined  all  the 
pretty  trifles. 

"  And  now,"  said  Miss  Hart,  at  last,  "  there's 
more  to  your  valentine  party.  Will  you  come 
out  to  the  dining-room  and  see  it?  " 

Wondering,  the  two  girls  followed  Miss  Hart 
to  the  dining-room,  and  fairly  stood  still  in  as- 
tonishment at  the  scene.  As  it  was  well  after 
dusk  now,  the  shades  had  been  drawn,  and  the 
lights  turned  on.  The  table  was  set  as  if  for  a 


MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

real  party,  and  the  decorations  were  all  of  pink 
and  white. 

Pink  candles  with  pretty  pink  shades  cast  a  soft 
light,  and  pink  and  white  flowers  were  beautifully 
arranged.  In  the  centre  was  a  waxen  cupid  with 
gilt  wings,  whose  outstretched  hands  bore  two 
large  hearts  suspended  by  ribbons.  These  hearts 
were  most  elaborate  satin  boxes,  one  having  Mar- 
jorie  on  it  in  gilt  letters  and  the  other  Delight. 
As  it  turned  out,  they  were  to  be  kept  as  jewel 
boxes,  or  boxes  for  any  little  trinkets,  but  now 
they  were  filled  with  delicious  bon-bons,  the  satin 
lining  being  protected  by  tinfoil  and  lace  paper. 

The  table  was  laid  for  four,  and  at  each  place 
was  a  valentine. 

Mrs.  Spencer  and  Miss  Hart  took  their  seats, 
but,  at  first,  the  girls  were  too  bewildered  to 
understand. 

"  It's  your  party,  Marjorie,"  said  Miss  Hart, 
smiling.  "  Your  father  and  mother  sent  it  all 
over, — everything,  even  the  candles  and  flowers. 
All  we've  done  is  to  arrange  it  on  the  table.  So 
you  must  sit  at  the  head,  as  you're  hostess." 

So  Midget  took  her  place  at  the  head  of  the 
table,  with  Delight  opposite. 

Each    person    had    a    parcel    at    their    plate, 


A  VALENTINE  PARTY  233 

daintily  tied  up  in  pink  paper  and  white  ribbon, 
and  sealed  with  little  gold  hearts. 

Mrs.  Spencer  said  they  would  not  open  these 
until  after  the  feast,  so  after  they  had  looked 
a  few  moments  longer  on  the  pretty  things  all 
about  the  table,  Mary  brought  in  the  first  course, 
and  the  party  began. 

First  there  was  fruit,  and  this  consisted  of  a 
slice  of  pineapple  cut  in  a  heart  shape,  and  sur- 
rounded on  the  plate  by  strawberries  and  candied 
cherries.  This  dainty  arrangement,  on  lace  pa- 
per, was  so  pretty  that  Delight  said  it  was  too 
bad  to  disturb  it. 

"  It's  too  good  not  to  be  disturbed,"  said  Mar- 
jorie,  and  as  it  was  really  dinner  time,  and  the 
girls  were  hungry,  the  lovely  fruit  course  soon 
disappeared. 

"  This  isn't  dinner,"  said  Mrs.  Spencer,  "  it's 
a  party  supper.  Your  party,  you  know, 
Marjorie." 

"  Yes'm ;  I  didn't  see  how  Father  could  send  me 
a  party  without  people.  But  he  did  his  part, 
didn't  he?  " 

"  Yes,  indeed ;  and  we're  doing  ours.  We've  all 
the  people  that  we  can  have,  and  so  we'll  make  the 
best  of  it." 


234         MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

"  I  think  it's  a  lovely  party,"  said  Delight  ; 
"  the  best  one  I  ever  went  to.  Oh,  what  are 
these?  " 

For  Mary  was  just  passing  the  most  fascinat- 
ing looking  dish.  It  was  oyster  croquettes,  care-- 
fully moulded  in  heart  shapes,  accompanied  by 
French  fried  potatoes  also  cut  into  little 
hearts. 

"  Ellen  cut  these,  I  know  she  did,"  said  Mar- 
jorie.  "  She's  such  a  clever  cook,  and  she  loves 
to  make  fancy  things." 

"  Your  mother  is  very  fortunate  with  her  serv- 
ants," said  Mrs.  Spencer,  with  a  little  sigh. 

And  then  came  lovely  brown  bread  sandwiches, 
of  course  they  were  heart  shaped  too,  and  Mar- 
jorie  declared  she'd  have  heart-disease  if  these 
things  kept  en  ! 

But  they  did  keep  on.  Next  came  jellied 
chicken  that  had  been  moulded  in  heart  forms,  and 
lettuce  salad  with  red  hearts  cut  from  beets  among 
the  crisp  yellow  leaves. 

Then  carne  dessert,  and  it  was  a  bewildering 
array  of  heart  ice  creams,  and  heart  cakes, 
and  heart  bon-bons,  and  heart  shaped  forms  of 


"  Only  one  of  each,  to-night,"  said  Mrs.  Spen- 


A  VALENTINE  PARTY  235 

cer,  smiling.  "  I  don't  want  two  invalids  for 
valentines,  I  can  assure  you." 

So  lots  of  the  good  things  were  left  over  for 
next  day,  and  Marjorie  remarked  that  she  thought 
the  next  day's  feast  was  always  about  as  much 
fun  as  the  party  any  way. 

"  Now  for  our  presents,"  said  Delight,  as  the 
last  plates  were  removed,  and  i-Iiey  sat  round  the 
table  still  feasting  their  eyes  on  the  pretty  trink- 
ets that  decorated  it. 

So  Mrs.  Spencer  opened  her  parcel  first. 

She  found  a  silver  photograph  frame  shaped 
like  a  heart.  Of  course,  Mr.  Spencer  had  sent 
it,  and  the  pretty  card  with  it  read: 

"As  at  my  verse  I'm  sure  you'd  sniff, 
I  simply  send  this  little  gift. 

"  VALENTINE." 

The  Spencers  seemed  to  think  this  a  fine  poem, 
but  Marjorie  secretly  wondered  if  a  grown-up 
man  could  think  those  words  rhymed ! 

Miss  Hart  opened  her  box  next,  and  found  a 
heart-shaped  filigree  gold  brooch  of  great  beauty. 
The  Maynards  had  sent  her  this,  not  only  as  a 
valentine,  but  as  a  token  of  gratitude  for  her 
kindness  to  Marjorie. 

These  verses  were  written  on  a  fancy  card: 


336        MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

"Hearts  to  Miss  Hart 
So  I  bring  you  a  heart 
Your  name  is  fine 
For  a  Valentine. 
Though  this  trinket  small 
Can't  tell  you  all 
'Twill  give  you  a  hint 
That  hearts  are  not  flint; 
And  when  this  one  of  gold 
Our  good  wishes  has  told, 
May  it  brightly  shine 
As  your  valentine." 


"  It's  just  a  darling ! "  exclaimed  Miss  Hart, 
looking  at  the  welcome  gift.  "  Your  parents  are 
too  good  to  me,  Marjorie." 

"  I'm  glad  of  it,"  said  Midge,  simply,  "  you're 
too  good  to  me !  " 

She  smiled  at  Miss  Hart,  and  then  she  and 
Delight  opened  their  boxes  together. 

Their  gifts  were  just  alike,  and  were  pink  and 
gold  cups  and  saucers.  The  china  and  decora- 
tion were  exquisite,  and  both  cup  and  saucer  were 
heart  shaped.  Not  the  most  convenient  shape  to 
drink  from,  perhaps,  but  lovely  for  a  souvenir 
of  Valentine's  Day. 

Then  they  took  the  boxes  held  out  by  the  wax 
cupid,  and  admired  the  tufted  satin  and  the 
ed  garlands. 


A  VALENTINE  PARTY  237 

"  Let's  take  the  candies  out  and  put  them  in 
other  boxes,"  said  Delight,  "  so  there'll  be  no 
danger  of  getting  a  bit  of  chocolate  on  the  satin." 

This  was  a  good  idea,  and  then  thej  took  all 
the  pretty  ornaments  into  the  library  and  set 
them  around  on  tables. 

"  It's  like  Christmas,"  said  Delight,  with  a  little 
sigh  of  happiness.  "  I  do  love  pretty  things." 

"  Then  you  ought  to  be  happy  now,"  said  Miss 
Hart,  "  for  I  never  saw  such  aa  array  of 
favors." 

And  indeed  the  room  looked  like  a  ralentine 
shop,  with  its  flowers  and  gifts  and  cupids  and 
valentines,  and  the  big  heart  standing  in  front 
of  the  mantel. 

Then  Miss  Hart  spent  the  evening  playing 
games  with  the  children,  and  after  an  enthusiastic 
telephone  conversation  with  the  people  opposite, 
Mar j one  and  Delight  went  upstairs,  agreeing 
that  nobody  had  ever  had  such  a  lovely  Valentine 
party. 


CHAPTER  XVII 

A    JINKS    AUCTION 

AT  last  the  day  came  when  Marjorie  was  allowed 
to  go  home. 

Doctor  Mendel  had  had  a  most  thorough  fumi- 
gation and  disinfection,  and  all  danger  was  over. 
The  little  boy  was  convalescent,  and  there  was  no 
longer  any  reason  why  Midget  or  Mr.  Spencer 
should  be  exiled  from  their  homes. 

And  so,  liberated  from  her  prison,  Midget  flew 
across  the  street,  and  into  the  arms  of  her  wait- 
ing family. 

"  Mother  first ! "  she  cried,  as  they  all  crowded 
round,  but  so  mixed  up  did  the  Maynards  be- 
come, that  it  was  one  grand  jumble  of  welcoming 
hugs  and  kisses. 

"  Oh,  I'm  so  glad  to  be  home  again,**  Marjorie 
cried,  as  she  looked  about  the  familiar  living-room. 
"  It  seems  as  if  I'd  been  away  years." 

"  Seems  so  to  me,  too,"  said  Kitty,  who  had 
greatly   missed  her   sister.     "  Mother,   aren't   we 
going  to  celebrate  Mopsy's  coming  home?  " 
238 


A  JINKS  AUCTION  239 

Now  "  celebration  "  in  the  Maynard  household, 
always  meant  dress-up  frocks,  and  ice  cream  for 
dessert. 

"  Of  course,"  said  Mrs.  Maynard,  smiling;  "  fly 
upstairs,  girlies,  and  get  into  some  pretty  dresses, 
and  then  fly  down  again,  for  father's  coming 
home  early." 

So  Midge  and  Kitty  flew,  and  King  scampered 
to  his  room  also,  aad  Mrs.  Maynard  gave  the 
baby  over  to  Nurse  Nannie  for  a  clean  frock,  while 
she  herself  telephoned  for  the  ice  cream.  And  to 
the  order  she  added  cakes  and  candied  fruits  and 
other  dainties,  until  it  bade  fair  to  be  a  celebra- 
tion feast  indeed. 

Marjorie,  delighted  to  be  in  her  own  room  once 
more,  chattered  rapidly,  as  she  and  Kitty  dressed, 
and  tied  ribbons,  and  hooked  waists  for  each  other. 

"  Delight  is  an  awfully  nice  girl,  Kitsie,"  she 
was  saying.  '*  I  didn't  like  her  so  much  at  first, 
but  as  we  were  together  so  much  I  grew  to  like 
her  better." 

"  Is  she  as  nice  as  Gladys  ?  " 

"  In  some  ways  she  is.  She's  more  fun  than 
Glad  about  playing  games.  She  loves  to  play 
pretend,  and  Gladys  wasn't  much  good  at  that. 
But.  of  course,  I'm  more  fond  of  Glad,  she's  mr 


240         MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

old  friewd.  Delight  is  nice  for  a  neighbor, 
though." 

Dressed  in  a  white  serge,  with  pipings  and  bows 
of  scarlet  relTet,  her  cheeks  glowing  red  with  the 
joyous  excitement  of  getting  home,  and  her  eyes 
dancing  with  happiness,  Marjorie  flew  downstairs 
just  in  time  to  tumble  into  the  arms  of  her  father, 
who  was  entering  the  hall  door. 

"  Why,  bless  my  stars !  "  he  exclaimed ;  "  who 
in  the  world  is  this?  " 

"  Your  long-lost  daughter ! "  said  Midge, 
nestling  in  his  big,  comfortable  embrace. 

"Not  Can  it  be?  This  great  big  girl! 
Why,  how  you've  grown !  And  yet, — yes,  it  is ! 
my  own  Marjorie  Mischief  Mopsy  Midget  May- 
nard!  Well,  I  am  glad  you're  back  where  you 
belong!" 

"  So'm  I !  I  tell  you  Father  Maynard,  it  was 
awful  hard  to  stay  away  so  long." 

"  I  know  it,  girlie,  and  I  hope  it  won't  happen 
again.  But  you  know,  '  into  each  Kfe  some  rain 
must  fall.' " 

*'  And  I  did  have  a  good  time,  too,"  went  on 
Midge.  "  Isn't  it  funny,  Father,  how  you  can 
have  a  good  time  and  a  bad  time  both  at 
once." 


A  JINKS  AUCTION 

"  Quite  comic,  I  should  say.  Now,  let  me  get 
my  coat  off,  and  then  we'll  talk  matters  over." 

Marjorie  skipped  into  the  living-room,  and 
plumped  herself  down  on  the  sofa.  Kitty  and 
King  sat  close  on  either  side,  and  Rosy  Posy 
climbed  into  her  lap  and  lovingly  patted  her  face. 

The  four  made  a  pretty  group,  and  as  Mrs. 
Maynard  came  in  and  saw  them,  she  said : 

"  Well,  I'm  glad  my  quartette  is  whole  again ; 
it's  been  broken  so  long." 

The  dinner  was  a  celebration  for  fair.  Aside 
from  the  delicious  things  to  eat,  everybody  was 
so  gay  and  glad  over  Marjorie's  return,  that  all 
was  laughter  and  jollity. 

"  How  different  our  two  families  arc,"  said 
Midge,  thoughtfully ;  "  here  we  are  having  such 
fun  and  frolic,  and  the  Spencers  are  just  haring 
an  every-day,  quiet  dinner." 

"  Aren't  they  glad  the  sickness  is  all  over?  " 
asked  Kitty. 

"  Yes,  of  course.  But  they  never  '  celebrate.' 
I  guess  they  don't  know  how  very  well.  And  Mrs. 
Spencer  is  very  quiet  Much  noise  makes  her 
head  ache." 

"  Mr.  Spencer  was  awful  quiet,  too,"  said  King. 
"  He  hardly  ever  laughed  all  the  tame  he  was 


MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

here.  Except  the  night  we  wrote  the  valentines. 
Then  he  laughed,  'cause  we  made  him  write  poetry, 
and  he  couldn't." 

"  Well,  they're  nice  people,"  said  Midge,  "  but 
awful  different  from  us.  I'm  glad  I'm  a 
Maynard !  " 

"  I'm  glad  you  are !  "  said  her  father. 

The  next  day  Mrs.  Maynard  announced  her  in- 
tention of  going  over  to  see  Mrs.  Spencer,  and 
thanking  her  for  her  care  of  Marjorie. 

"  But  it  does  seem  funny,"  said  Midge,  "  to 
thank  her  for  keeping  me  there,  when  I  couldn't 
possibly  get  away !  But  she  was  good  to  me, 
though  really  she  didn't  pay  very  much  attention 
to  me.  But  I  s'pose  that  was  'cause  she  was  so 
bothered  about  the  little  sick  boy.  But,  Mother, 
do  thank  Miss  Hart,  too.  She  was  lovely;  and 
she  put  herself  out  lots  of  times,  to  make  it  pleas- 
ant for  Delight  and  me.  Give  her  plenty  of 
thanks,  will  you,  Mother  ?  " 

"  Yes,  Midget ;  and  what  about  Delight  ?  " 

"  Oh,  yes,  thank  her  too.  She  was  kind  and 
pleasant, — only, — well,  it  seems  mean  to  say  so, — 
but,  Mother,  she  is  a  little  selfish.  I  didn't  mind, 
really ;  only  I  don't  think  it's  quite  nice  to  be  selfish 
to  a  guest." 


A  JINKS  AUCTION  243 

"  Perhaps  not,  Mar j one ;  but  neither  is  it  nice 
to  criticise  your  little  hostess." 

Marjorie  flushed.  "  I  didn't  mean  to,  Mother," 
she  said ;  "  but  I  thought  it  didn't  count  when 
I'm  just  talking  to  you." 

"  That's  right,  dearie ;  always  say  anything  you 
choose  to  Mother,  but  don't  criticise  Delight  to 
anybody  else." 

"  No,  Mother,  I  won't,"  and  Midge  gave  her 
mother  one  of  her  biggest  "  bear-hugs  "  and  then 
wandered  off  in  search  of  Kitty. 

"  What  are  you  doing,  Kit  ?  "  she  said,  as  she 
found  her  sister  sitting  on  the  big  hall  settle, 
looking  out  of  the  window. 

"  Waiting  for  Dorothy.  She's  coming  this 
afternoon,  and  we're  going  to  play  paper 
dolls." 

Marjorie  must  have  looked  a  little  disappointed, 
for  Kitty  said: 

"  Say,  Mops,  why  don't  you  take  Delight  for 
your  friend  in  Glad's  place?  It's  so  nice  to  have 
a  friend  all  your  own." 

"  I  know  it  is,  Kit,"  and  Midget  sat  down  be- 
side her  sister,  "  but  somehow  it  seems  sort  of 
mean  to  put  anybody  in  Gladys's  place." 

"  Oh,  pshaw !  it  doesn't  either.     And  when  Glad 


244         MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

is  so  far  away,  too.  She  doesn't  even  write  to 
you,  does  she?  " 

"  She  sent  me  a  valentine." 

"Well,  but  when  has  she  written?" 

"  Not  for  a  long  time.  But  that  doesn't  mat- 
ter. She's  my  friend,  and  I'm  not  going  to  put 
anybody  else  in  her  place." 

Kitty  grew  exasperated  at  this  foolishness,  as 
it  seemed  to  her,  and  said: 

"  Well,  then  don't  put  her  in  Glad's  place. 
Keep  her  old  place  empty.  But  take  Delight  as 
a  sort  of,  what  do  you  call  it?  Substitute  friend, 
and  let  her  come  over  here  to  play,  same  as  Dor- 
othy comes 'to  play  with  me." 

"  I'd  like  to  do  that,"  said  Midge.  "  I'm  aw- 
fully glad  to  have  Delight  with  me,  and  I  know 
she  likes  me." 

"  Then  go  and  telephone  her  now.  Ask  her  tc 
come  over,  and  play." 

"  No,  not  now,  'cause  mother  is  over  there,  and 
I'd  rather  wait  till  she  comes  home.  Let's  all  play 
together  to-day." 

"  All  right ;  here  comes  Dorothy  now." 

Dorothy  Adams  came  in,  very  glad  to  see 
Midget  again,  whom  she  liked  almost  as  much  as 
she  did  Kitty.  She  took  off  her  things,  and  the 


A  JINKS  AUCTION  245 

girls  drifted  into  the  living-room,  where  King  sat 
reading. 

He  had  a  band  of  red  ribbon  round  his  head, 
in  which  were  stuck  a  dozen  large  turkey  feathers, 
giving  him  a  startling  appearance. 

"What's  the  feathers  for?"  asked  Dorothy, 
looking  at  the  boy  in  amazement. 

"  Why,  you  see,  I'm  reading  one  of  Cooper's 
stories,"  King  explained,  "  and  I  can  sort  of  feel 
the  Indian  part  of  it  better  if  I  wear  some 
feathers." 

"  Come  on  and  play,"  said  Midget ;  "  shall  we 
play  Indians  ?  " 

"  No,"  said  Kitty,  promptly,  "  it's  too  rough 
and  tumbly  when  we  play  it  in  the  house.  Let's 
play  a  pretend  game." 

"  Aren't  we  going  to  have  the  Jinks  Club  any 
more  ?  "  asked  Dorothy.  "  We  haven't  had  it 
since  the  Fultons  went  away." 

"  Too  few  of  us,"  said  King ;  "  we  four,  that's 
ail." 

"  We  might  ask  Delight  to  belong,"  said  Mar- 
jorie,  "  she  can  cut  up  jinks  when  she  feels 
like  it." 

"  All  right,  do ;"  said  King,  "  let's  have  Flossy 
Flouncy;  and  I'll  ask  Flip  Henderson,  he's  heaps 


246         MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

of  fun.  Then  we'll  have  six,  just  like  we  had 
before." 

"  I  don't  like  to  put  people  in  the  Fultons' 
place,"  said  Marjorie,  dubiously. 

"  Now,  look  here,  Midge,  that's  silly ! "  said 
King.  "  We  can't  help  it  that  the  Fultons  moved 
away,  but  that's  no  reason  we  shouldn't  have  any- 
body to  play  with.  Let's  telephone  for  our  two 
new  members  right  now,  and  begin  the  club  all  over 
again." 

After  a  little  more  argument  Marjorie  con- 
sented, and  she  telephoned  for  Delight  to  come 
over,  and  then  King  telephoned  for  Frederick 
Henderson,  better  known  by  the  more  euphonious 
name  of  Flip.  Both  accepted,  and  in  less  than 
half  an  hour  the  Jinks  Club  was  in  full  session. 
The  new  members  had  been  elected  by  the  simple 
process  of  telling  them  that  they  were  members, 
and  they  gladly  agreed  to  the  rules  and  regula- 
tions of  the  somewhat  informal  club. 

"  We  just  cut  up  jinks,"  exclaimed  Marjorie, 
"but  they  have  to  be  good  jinks,  for  bad  jinks 
are  mischief,  and  we  try  to  keep  out  of  that." 

"  It  sounds  lovely,"  said  Delight ;  "  I  always 
wanted  to  belong  to  a  club,  but  I  never  have  be- 
fore. Can't  we  cut  up  a  jink,  now?  " 


A  JINKS  AUCTION  247 

"  You  must  say  '  cut  up  jinks,'  Flossy  Flouncy," 
said  King,  smiling  at  the  pretty,  eager  face. 
"  You  can't  cut  'em  by  ones." 

"  Well,  cut  some,  and  show  me  how." 

"  I  believe  you  think  we  cut  'em  with  scissors, 
like  paper  dolls,"  said  Marjorie,  laughing. 

She  was  really  very  glad  to  have  Delight  with 
her  again,  for  she  had  become  more  attached  than 
she  realised  to  the  little  girl  during  their  fortnight 
together. 

"  Show  me,"  repeated  Delight,  with  an  air  of 
willingness  to  learn. 

"  All  right ;  let's  have  a  good  one.  What  shall 
it  be,  Mops?" 

King  looked  at  his  sister  with  such  evident  faith 
in  her  power  of  inventiveness,  that  the  others  all 
looked  at  her  too.  Marjorie  looked  round  the 
room. 

"  I'll  tell  you ! "  she  cried,  as  a  brilliant  idea 
came  to  her,  "  we'll  play  auction." 

"  Hooray ! "  cried  King,  grasping  the  plan  at 
once.  "  Sell  everything  we  can  move." 

"  Yes,"  cried  Mops.  "  Where  is  the  auction 
room  ?  " 

"  This  end  of  the  room  is  the  auction  room," 
said  King,  indicating  nearly  half  of  the  long 


248         MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

living-room.  "  Now,  Flip  and  I  are  auctioneers, 
and  you  ladies  are  in  reduced  poverty,  and  have 
to  bring  your  household  goods  to  be  sold." 

Delight  and  Kitty  at  once  saw  dramatic  pos- 
sibilities, and  flew  to  dress  for  their  parts.  An 
afghan  for  a  shawl,  and  a  tidy  for  a  bonnet,  con- 
tented Kitty,  but  on  Delight's  head  went  a  fluffy 
lamp  mat,  stuck  through  with  four  or  five  of  the 
turkey  quills  discarded  from  King's  head-dress. 

Mops  and  Dorothy  followed  this  lead,  and  soon 
four  poverty-stricken  ladies,  carrying  household 
treasures,  timidly  entered  the  auction-room. 

"  What  can  I  do  for  you,  madam  ?  "  said  King, 
as  Delight  showed  him  a  bronze  statuette. 

"  I  have  lost  all  my  fortune,  sir,"  responded 
Delight,  sobbing  in  a  way  that  greatly  pleased 
her  hearers ;  "  and  I  fear  I  must  sacrifice  my  few 
remaining  relics  of  my  better  days." 

"  Ah,  yes,  madam.  Sorry  to  hear  of  your  ill 
luck.  Just  leave  the  statuette,  ma'am,  we  have  an 
auction  to-morrow  or  next  week,  and  we'll  get 
what  we  can  for  it." 

"  It's  a  priceless  work  of  art,"  said  Delight, 
still  loudly  weeping,  "  and  I  don't  want  less  than 
five  thousand  dollars  for  it." 

"  Five    thousand    dollars,    madam !      A    mere 


A  JINKS  AUCTION  249 

trifle  for  that  gem!  I'll  get  ten  thousand  for 
you,  at  least !  " 

"  Ten  thousand  will  do  nicely,"  said  Delight, 
giggling  at  last  at  King's  pompous  air. 

Then  Marjorie  came  bringing  a  large  frilly 
sofa  pillow. 

"  This  is  my  last  pillow,"  she  said,  in  quavering 
tones.  "  I  shall  have  to  sleep  on  a  brickbat  to- 
night; but  I  must  have  bread  for  my  children 
to  eat.  There  are  seven  of  them,  and  they  haven't 
had  a  mouthful  for  two  weeks." 

"  Oh,  that's  nothing !  "  responded  Flip,  airily. 
"  Children  ought  not  to  be  fed  oftener  than  every 
three  weeks  anyway.  I  hate  over-fed  children, 
It  makes  them  so  cross." 

"  So  it  does,"  agreed  Kitty.  "  But  my  children 
are  never  cross,  'cause  I  feed  them  on  honey.  I've 
brought  a  bust  of  Dante  to  have  sold  by  auction. 
It's  a  big  one,  you  see,  and  ought  to  bring  a  good 
price." 

"  Yes,  it  will,  madame,  I'm  sure.  Haven't  you 
anything  more  to  leave?  " 

"  Yes,  here's  an  umbrella,  and  a  waste  basket, 
and  some  books.  They're  all  valuable  but  I  have 
so  much  treasures  in  my  house,  I  don't  need 
these." 


250         MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

"  Hurry  up,"  put  in  Dorothy,  "  and  give  me  a 
chance.  I've  brought  these  pictures,"  showing 
some  small  ones  she  had  lifted  from  their  nails  in 
the  wall,  "  and  also  this  fine  inkstand.  Look  out, 
and  don't  spill  the  ink.  Also  here's  a  vase  of 
flowers,  flowers  and  all.  Look  out  and  don't  spill 
the  water." 

"  You  seem  to  bring  spilly  things,  ma'am,"  said 
King,  taking  the  goods  carefully.  "  But  we'll 
sell  them." 

Each  girl  trudged  back  and  forth  a  few  times 
until  most  of  the  portable  things  in  the  room  were 
piled  up  on  the  table  and  sofa  at  the  end  where 
the  boys  were,  and  then  the  auction  was  prepared 

The  boys  themselves  had  taken  down  many  of 
the  larger  pictures  from  their  hooks,  and  the  room 
looked,  on  the  whole,  as  if  a  cyclone  had  struck  it. 

"  They  ought  to  be  numbered,"  said  Flip,  step- 
ping gingerly  about  among  the  things. 

"  Hold  on  a  minute !  I've  got  it ! "  shouted 
King,  and  rushed  upstairs  at  top  speed. 

He  returned  with  a  large  calendar,  two  or  three 
pairs  of  scissors  and  a  paste-pot. 

"  Cut  'em  out,"  he  directed,  giving  each  girl 
a  page  of  the  calendar. 

The  numbers  were  large,  more   than   an  inch 


A  JINKS  AUCTION  251 

square,  and  soon  lots  of  them  were  cut  out.  These, 
the  boys  pasted  on  all  the  goods  for  sale,  making 
them  look  like  real  auction  goods. 

"Won't  it  hurt  the  things?"  asked  Delight, 
who  was  not  used  to  such  high-handed  perform- 
ances. 

"  'Course  not !  They'll  wash  right  off.  Now 
the  auction  will  begin.  Now,  you  must  be  rich 
ladies,  different  ones,  you  know." 

"  Here  you  are !  "  cried  King,  who  was  auction- 
eer by  common  consent ;  "  here  you  are !  number 
24 !  a  fine  large  statuette  by  one  of  the  old  masters. 
What  am  I  bid  for  this?" 

"  Fifty  cents,"  said  Dorothy. 

"  Fifty  cents !  Do  you  mean  to  insult  me, 
madame !  Why,  some  old  masters  sell  as  high  as 
fifty  dollars,  I  can  tell  you!  Who  will  bid 
higher?" 

"  One  hundred  dollars !  "  called  out  Delight,  and 
the  bronze  statuette  was  declared  her  property. 

Then  other  goods  were  put  up,  and,  in  order 
to  make  the  play  progress  more  quickly,  two 
auctioneers  were  set  to  work,  and  King  and  Flip 
were  both  calling  their  wares  and  the  bids  at 
once. 

Naturally,  the  bidders  grew  very  excited.     A 


252         MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

large  picture  was  hotly  contested,  Kitty  bidding 
against  Delight,  while  on  the  other  block,  the  big 
inkstand  was  being  sold.  Somehow  the  wire  of 
the  picture  became  tangled  round  the  auction- 
eer's foot,  he  stepped  back  and  bumped  into  the 
other  auctioneer  who  lost  his  balance,  and  fell  over, 
inkstand  and  all.  The  heavy  inkstand  fell  on  the 
picture,  breaking  the  glass,  and  soaking  the  paper 
engraving  with  ink.  Much  of  the  ink,  too,  went 
on  Flip,  who  grabbed  for  it  in  a  vain  endeavor 
to  save  the  situation. 

The  two  boys  laughingly  straightened  them- 
selves out  of  their  own  mix  up,  but  their  laughter 
ceased  when  they  saw  that  real  damage  had  been 
done. 

"Oh,  dear!"  said  Marjorie,  "this  is  a  bad 
jinks  after  all !  " 

"  Never  mind,  Mopsy,"  said  King,  magnani- 
mously, "  it  wasn't  your  fault.  It  was  mine." 

"  No,  it  was  mine,"  said  Midge,  "  for  I  pro- 
posed playing  auction.  I  might  have  known  we'd 
play  it  too  hard." 

"  Never  mind,"  said  Kitty,  "  the  company 
(didn't  have  anything  to  do  with  the  trouble,  and 
me  mustn't  make  them  feel  bad." 

"I  did,"  said  Dorothy,  "I  brought  the  ink- 


A  JINKS  AUCTION  253 

stand  to  the  auction.     I  ought  to  hare  known 

better." 

"  Never  mind  who's  to  blame,"  said  King,  "  let's 
straighten  things  out.  The  game  is  over." 

Good-naturedly,  they  all  went  to  work,  and  soon 
had  everything  back  in  its  place.  The  broken  and 
spoiled  picture  was  stood  behind  the  sofa,  face  to 
the  wall,  to  be  confessed  to  mother  later. 

"  Now  we're  all  in  shape  again,"  said  King, 
looking  proudly  about  the  cleared  up  room. 
"Any  nice  little  jinks  to  eat,  Midgie?" 

"I'll  ask  Sarah.     She'll  find  something." 

She  did,  and  soon  a  large  tray  of  cookies  and 
lemonade  refreshed  the  members  of  the  Jinks 
Club,  after  which  the  visiting  members  went  home. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

HONEST    CONFESSION 

"  I  WANT  to  own  up,  Mother,"  said  King,  as  Mrs. 
Maynard  came  into  the  room,  just  before  dinner 
time. 

"  Well,  King,  what  have  you  been  doing  now  ?  " 

Mrs.  Maynard's  face  expressed  a  humorous  sort 
of  resignation,  for  she  was  accustomed  to  these 
confessions. 

"  Well,  you  see,  Mothery,  we  had  the  Jinks 
Club  here  to-day." 

King's  voice  was  very  wheedlesome,  and  he  had 
his  arm  round  his  mother's  neck,  for  he  well  knew 
her  affection  for  her  only  son  often  overcame  her 
duty  of  discipline. 

"  And  the  Jinksies  cut  up  some  awful  piece  of 
mischief, — is  that  it?  " 

"  Yes,  Mother ;  but  it's  a  truly  awful  one  this 
time,  and  I'm  the  one  to  blame." 

"No,   you're  not!"   broke   in    Marjorie;   "at 
least,  not  entirely.     I  proposed  the  game." 
254 


HONEST  CONFESSION  255 

"  Well,"  said  Mrs.  Maynard,  "  before  you  quar- 
rel for  the  honor  of  this  dreadful  deed,  suppose 
you  tell  me  what  it  is." 

For  answer,  King  dragged  the  big  picture  out 
from  behind  the  sofa,  and  Mrs.  Maynard's  smile 
changed  to  a  look  of  real  dismay. 

"  Oh,  King ! "  she  said ;  "  that's  your  father's 
favorite  engraving !  " 

"  Yes'm,  I  know  it.  That's  the  awfullest  part 
of  it.  But,  Mother,  it  was  an  accident." 

"  Ah,  yes,  but  an  accident  that  ought  not  to 
have  happened.  It  was  an  accident  brought 
about  by  your  own  wrong-doing.  What  pos- 
sessed you  to  take  that  great  picture  down 
from  the  wall,  and  why  did  you  splash  ink  on 
-t?" 

So  then  all  the  children  together  told  the  whole 
story  of  the  auction  game. 

"  But  it  was  lots  of  fun !  "  Marjorie  wound  up, 
with  great  enthusiasm.  "  Delight  is  grand  to 
play  games  with.  She  acts  just  like  a  grown-up 
lady.  And  Flip  Henderson  is  funny  too." 

"  But  Midget,"  said  her  mother,  "  I  can't  let 
you  go  on  with  this  Jinks  Club  of  yours,  if  you're 
always  going  to  spoil  things." 

"  No,    of    course    not.     But,    Mother,   I   don't 


256        MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

think  it  will  happen  again.  And  anyway,  next 
time  v/e're  going  to  meet  at  Delight's." 

"  That  doesn't  help  matters  any,  my  child.  I'd 
rather  you'd  spoil  my  things  than  Mrs.  Spencer's, 
— if  spoiling  must  be  done.  Well,  the  case  is  too 
serious  for  me.  I'll  leave  the  whole  matter  to  your 
father, — I  hear  him  coming  up  the  steps  now." 

Soon  Mr.  Maynard  entered  the  room,  and  found 
his  whole  family  grouped  round  the  ruined  picture. 

"  Wowly — wow-wow !  "  he  exclaimed.  "  Has 
there  been  an  earthquake?  For  nothing  else 
could  wreck  my  pet  picture  like  that ! " 

"  No,  Father,"  said  King ;  "  it  wasn't  an  earth- 
quake. I  did  it, — mostly.  We  were  playing 
auction,  and  my  foot  got  tangled  up  in  the  pic- 
ture wire,  and  the  inkstand  upset,  and  smashed 
the  glass,  and — and  I'm  awful  sorry." 

King  was  too  big  a  boy  to  cry,  but  there  was 
a  lump  in  his  throat,  as  he  saw  his  father's  look 
of  real  regret  at  the  loss  of  his  valued  picture. 

"  Tell  me  all  about  it,  son.     Was  it  mischief?  " 

"  I'm  afraid  it  was.  But  we  took  all  the  things 
in  the  room  to  play  auction  with,  and  somehow 
I  took  that  down  from  the  wall  without  thinking. 
And,  of  course,  I  didn't  know  it  was  going  to  get 
broken." 


HONEST  CONFESSION  257 

"  No,  King ;  but  if  you  had  stopped  to  think, 
you  would  have  known  that  it  might  get  broken?  " 

"  Yes,  sir." 

"  Then  it  would  have  been  wiser  and  kinder  to* 
leave  it  upon  the  wall,  out  of  harm's  way?  " 

"  Yes,  Father ;  much  better.  I  didn't  think. 
Oh, — I  know  that's  no  excuse,  but  that's, — well* 
it's  the  reason." 

"  And  a  very  poor  reason,  my  boy.  The  worth- 
while man  is  the  man  who  thinks  in  time.  Think- 
ing afterward  doesn't  mend  broken  things, — or 
take  out  inkstains.  Of  course,  the  broken  glass 
is  a  mere  trifle,  that  could  have  been  easily  re- 
placed. But  the  engraving  itself  is  ruined  by 
the  ink." 

"Couldn't  it  be  restored?"  asked  King,  hope- 
fully. He  was  not  quite  certain  what  "  restored  " 
meant,  but  he  knew  his  father  had  had  it  done  to 
some  pictures. 

Mr.  Maynard  smiled.  "  No,  King,  a  paper 
engraving  cannot  be  restored.  What  is  that 
number  pasted  on  it  for  ?  " 

"  We  numbered  all  the  things,  so  as  to  make  it 
like  a  real  auction,"  said  Marjorie. 

Mr.  Maynard  glanced  round  the  room. 

"  You   rascally   children !  "  he  cried ;  "  if  you 


MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

haven't  stuck  papers  on  all  the  vases  and  bric-a- 
brac  in  the  room !  And  on  this  tree-calf  Tennyson, 
as  I  live !  Oh,  my  little  Maynards !  Did  anybody 
ever  have  such  a  brood  as  you?  " 

Mr.  Maynard  dropped  his  head  in  his  hands  in 
apparent  despair,  but  the  children  caught  the 
amused  note  in  his  voice,  and  the  twinkle  in  his 
eye,  as  he  glanced  at  his  wife. 

"  Well,  here  you  are !  "  he  said,  as  he  raised 
his  head  again,  "  for  a  punishment  you  must  get 
all  those  numbers  off  without  injury  to  the  things 
they're  pasted  on.  This  will  mean  much  care  and 
patience,  for  you  must  not  use  water  on  books  or 
anything  that  dampness  will  harm.  Those  must 
be  picked  off  in  tiny  bits  with  a  sharp  pen- 
loiife." 

"  Oh,  we'll  do  it,  Father ! "  cried  Marjorie, 
"  and  we'll  be  just  as  careful!  " 

"  Indeed  you  must.  You've  done  enough  havoc 
already.  As  to  the  picture,  King,  we'll  say  no 
more  about  it.  You're  too  big  a  boy  now  to  be 
punished;  so  we'll  look  upon  it  as  a  matter  be- 
tween man  and  man.  I  know  you  appreciate  how 
deeply  I  regret  the  loss  of  that  picture,  and  I 
well  know  how  sorry  you  feel  about  it  yourself. 
The  incident  is  closed." 


HONEST  CONFESSION  259 

Mr.  Maynard  held  out  his  hand  to  his  son,  and 
as  King  grasped  it  he  felt  that  his  father's  manly 
attitude  in  the  matter  was  a  stronger  reproof  and 
a  more  efficacious  lesson  to  him  than  any  definite 
punishment  could  be. 

After  dinner  the  three  children  went  to  work  to 
remove  the  pasted  numbers. 

A  few,  which  were  on  glass  vases,  or  porcelain, 
or  metal  ornaments,  could  be  removed  easily  by 
soaking  with  a  damp  cloth ;  but  most  of  them  were 
on  plaster  casts,  or  polished  wood,  or  fine  book 
bindings  and  required  the  greatest  care  in 
handling. 

When  bed-time  came  the  task  was  not  half 
finished,  and  Marjorie's  shoulders  were  aching 
from  close  application  to  the  work. 

"  Sorry  for  you,  kiddies,"  said  Mr.  Maynard, 
as  they  started  for  bed,  "  but  if  you  dance,  you 
must  pay  the  piper.  Perhaps  a  few  more  even- 
ings will  finish  the  job,  and  then  we'll  forget  all 
about  it." 

Mr.  Maynard,  though  not  harsh,  was  always 
firm,  and  the  children  well  knew  they  had  the 
work  to  do,  and  must  stick  patiently  at  it  till 
it  was  finished. 

"  Good-night,  Father,"  said  King,  "  and  thank 


S60         MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

you  for  your  confidence  in  me.  I'll  try  to  deserve 
it  hereafter." 

"  Good-night,  my  boy.  We  all  hare  to  learn 
by  experience,  and  when  you  want  my  help,  it's 
yours." 

The  straightforward  glance  that  passed  be- 
tween father  and  son  meant  much  to  both,  and 
King  went  off  to  bed,  feeling  that,  if  not  quite 
a  grown  man,  he  was  at  least  a  child  no  longer 
in  his  father's  estimation. 

After  the  children  had  gone,  Mr.  Maynard 
picked  out  the  most  delicate  or  valuable  of  the 
"  auction  "  goods,  and  began  himself  to  remove  the 
pasted  numbers. 

"  Partly  to  help  the  kiddies,"  he  said  to  his  wife, 
"and  partly  because  I  know  they'd  spoil  these 
things.  It's  all  I  can  do  to  manage  them  suc- 
cessfully myself." 

Next  morning  at  breakfast  Mrs.  Maynard  said : 

"  Well,  Midget,  now  you're  at  home  again,  what 
about  starting  back  to  school?" 

"  Oh,  Mother ! "  said  Marjorie,  looking  discon- 
solate. And  then,  for  she  did  not  want  to  be 
naughty  about  it,  she  added :  "All  right ;  I  s'pose 
I  must  go,  so  I  will.  But  as  to-day's  Friday  I 
can  wait  till  Monday,  can't  I  ?  " 


HONEST  CONFESSION  261 

Mrs.  Maynard  smiled.  "  Yes,  I  think  you  may 
wait  till  Monday,  if  you  want  to.  But  are  you 
sure  you  want  to?  " 

"  'Deed  I  am  sure  !  " 

"  And  nothing  would  make  you  want  to  go 
to-day,  instead  of  waiting  till  Monday?  " 

"  No,  ma'am!  no-thing!  "  and  Midget  actually 
pounded  the  table  with  her  knife-handle,  so  em- 
phatic was  she. 

"  You  tell  her,  Fred,"  said  Mrs.  Maynard,  smil- 
ing at  her  husband. 

"  Well,  Madcap  Mopsy,"  said  her  father,  "  try 
to  bear  up  under  this  new  misfortune ;  your  mother 
and  I  have  planned  a  plan,  and  this  is  it.  How 
would  you  like  it,  instead  of  going  to  school  any 
more, — I  mean  to  Miss  Lawrence, — to  go  every 
day  to  lessons  with  Delight  and  Miss  Hart?  " 

Marjorie  sat  still  a  minute,  trying  to  take  it 
in.  It  seemed  too  good  to  be  true. 

Then  dropping  her  knife  and  fork,  she  left  her 
chair  and  flew  round  to  her  father's  place  at  table. 

Seeing  the  whirlwind  coming,  Mr.  Maynard 
pushed  back  his  own  chair  just  in  time  to  receive 
a  good-sized  burden  of  delighted  humanity  that 
threw  itself  round  his  neck  and  squeezed  him 
tight. 


262         MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

"  Oh,  Father,  Father,  Father !  do  yon  really 
mean  it?  Not  go  to  school  any  more  at  all! 
And  have  lessons  every  day  with  that  lovely  Miss 
Hart,  and  my  dear  Delight?  Oh,  Father,  you're 
such  a  duck !  " 

"  There,  there,  my  child !  Don't  strangle  me, 
or  I'll  take  it  all  back ! " 

"  You  can't  now  !  You've  said  it !  Oh,  I'm  so 
glad!  Can  I  start  to-day?" 

"  Oho !  "  said  Mrs.  Maynard ;  "  who  was  it  that 
said  nothing  could  make  her  want  to  go  to-day 
instead  of  Monday?  " 

Marjorie  giggled.  "  But  who  could  have 
dreamed  you  meant  this?  "  she  cried,  leaving  her 
father  and  flying  to  caress  her  mother.  "  Oh, 
Mumsie,  won't  it  be  lovely !  Oh,  I  am  so  happy !  " 

"  If  not,  you're  a  pretty  good  imitation  of  a 
happy  little  girl,"  said  her  father ;  "  and  now  if 
you'll  return  to  your  place  and  finish  your  break- 
fast, we'll  call.it  square." 

"  Square  it  is,  then,"  said  Marjorie,  skipping 
back  to  her  place ;  "  Kit,  did  you  ever  hear  of 
anything  so  lovely !  " 

"  Never,"  said  Kitty,  "  for  you.  I'd  rather  go 
to  school  and  be  with  the  girls." 

"  I  didn't  mind  when  Gladys  was  here,  but  I've 


HONEST  CONFESSION  263 

hated  it  ever  since  I  was  alone.  But  to  study 
with  Miss  Hart, — oh,  goody!  Is  she  willing, 
Mother?  " 

"  Of  course,  I've  discussed  it  with  her  and  with 
Mrs.  Spencer.  Indeed,  Mrs.  Spencer  proposed 
the  plan  herself,  when  I  was  over  there  yesterday. 
She  and  Miss  Hart  think  it  will  be  good  for  De- 
light to  have  some  one  with  her.  So,  Midge,  you 
must  be  a  good  girl,  and  not  teach  Delight  all 
sorts  of  mischief." 

"  Oh,  yes,  Mother,  I'll  be  so  good  you  won't 
know  me.  Can  I  start  to-day  ?  " 

"  Yes,  if  you're  sure  you  want  to." 

"Want  to?  I  just  guess  I  do!"  and  Midget 
danced  upstairs  to  dress  for  "  school." 

The  plan  worked  admirably.  Miss  Hart  was 
not  only  a  skilled  teacher,  but  a  most  tactful  and 
clever  woman,  and  as  she  really  loved  her  two 
little  pupils,  she  taught  them  so  pleasantly  that 
they  learned  without  drudgery. 

As  the  clock  hands  neared  nine  every  morning, 
there  were  no  more  long  drawn  sighs  from  Mar- 
jorie,  but  smiles  and  cheery  good-byes,  as  the  little 
girl  gaily  left  the  house  and  skipped  across  the 
street. 

The   daily   association,   too,   brought   her  into 


264         MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

closer  friendship  with  Delight,  and  the  two  girls 
became  real  chums.  Their  natures  were  so  differ- 
ent, that  they  reacted  favorably  on  one  another, 
and  under  Miss  Hart's  gentle  and  wise  guidance 
the  two  girls  improved  in  everj  way. 

It  was  one  day  in  the  very  last  part  of  Feb- 
ruary that  Midge  came  home  to  find  a  letter  for 
her  on  the  hall  table. 

"  From  Gladys,"  she  cried  and  tore  it  open. 

"Oh,  dear!"  she  exclaimed,  "I  didn't  think! 
Miss  Hart  told  me  never  to  open  a  letter  with 
my  finger,  but  to  wait  till  I  could  get  a  letter- 
opener.  Well,  it's  too  late  now,  I'll  remember 
next  time." 

She  looked  ruefully  at  the  untidy  edges  of  the 
envelope,  but  pulled  the  letter  out  and  began  to 
read  it. 

"  DEAR  MARJOUIE  : 

"  I'm  coming  to  see  you,  that  is,  if  you  want 
me  to.  Father  has  to  go  East,  and  he  will  leave 
me  at  your  house  while  he  goes  to  New  York.  I 
will  get  there  on  Friday  and  stay  four  days.  I 
will  be  glad  to  see  you  again. 
"  Sincerely  yours, 

"  GLADYS  FULTON." 


HONEST  CONFESSION  265 

Marjorie  smiled  at  the  stiff  formal  letter,  which 
was  the  sort  Gladys  always  wrote,  and  then  she 
went  in  search  of  her  mother. 

"  Gladys  is  coming  on  Friday,"  she  announced. 

"  That's  very  nice,  my  dear,"  said  Mrs.  May- 
nard ;  "  you'll  be  so  glad  to  see  her  again,  won't 
you?  " 

"  Yes,"  said  Midget,  but  she  said  it  slowly, 
and  with  a  troubled  look  in  her  eyes. 

"  Well,  what  is  it,  dear?    Tell  Mother." 

"  I  don't  know  exactly, — but  somehow  I'm  not 
so  awfully  pleased  to  have  Gladys  come.  You  see, 
she  may  not  like  Delight,  and  I  want  them  to  like 
each  other." 

"  Why  do  you  want  them  to  ?  " 

"  Why  do  I?  Mother,  what  a  funny  question! 
Why,  I  want  them  to  like  each  other  because  I 
like  them  both." 

"  But  you  don't  seem  anxious  lest  Delight  won't 
like  Gladys." 

"  Oh,  of  course  she'll  like  her !  Delight  is  so 
sweet  and  amiable,  she'd  like  anybody  that  J  like. 
But  Gladys  is, — well, — touchy." 

"  Which  do  you  care  more  for,  dearie  ?  " 

"  Mothery,  that's  just  what  bothers  me  I'm 
getting  to  like  Delight  better  and  better.  And 


266         MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

that  doesn't  seem  fair  to  Gladys,  for  she's  my 
old  friend,  and  I  wouldn't  be  unloyal  to  her  for 
anything.  So  you  see,  I  don't  know  which  I  like 
best." 

"Well,  Marjorie,  I'll  tell  you.  In  the  first 
place,  you  mustn't  take  it  so  seriously.  Friend- 
ships among  children  are  very  apt  to  change  when 
one  moves  away  and  another  comes.  Now  both 
these  little  girls  are  your  good  friends,  but  it 
stands  to  reason  that  the  one  you're  with  every 
day  should  be  nearer  and  dearer  than  one  who 
lives  thousands  of  miles  away.  So  I  want  you  to 
enjoy  Delight's  friendship,  and  consider  her  your 
dearest  friend,  if  you  choose,  without  feeling  that 
you  are  disloyal  to  Gladys." 

"Could  I,  Mother?" 

"  Certainly,  dear.  That  is  all  quite  right. 
Now,  when  Gladys  comes,  for  a  few  days,  you 
must  devote  yourself  especially  to  her,  as  she  will 
be  your  house- guest ;  and  if  she  and  Delight  aren't 
entirely  congenial,  then  you  must  exclude  Delight 
while  Gladys  is  here.  You  may  not  like  to  do 
this,  and  it  may  not  be  necessary,  but  if  it  is, 
then  devote  yourself  to  Gladys'  pleasure  and 
preferences,  because  it  is  your  duty.  To  be  a 
good  hostess  is  an  important  lesson  for  any  girl 


HONEST  CONFESSION  267 

or  woman  to  learn,  and  you  are  not  too  young 
to  begin." 

"  Shall  I  tell  Delight  I'm  going  to  do  this?  " 
"  Not  before  Gladys  comes.     They  may  admire 
each  other  immensely;  then  there  will  be  no  oc- 
casion to  mention  it.     When  is  Gladys  coming?  " 
"  On  Friday.     That's  only  three  days  off." 
"  Then  we  must  begin  to  plan  a  little  for  her 
pleasures.     As  she  will  only  be  here  four  days, 
we  can't  do  very  much.     Suppose  we  have  a  little 
party  Saturday  afternoon,  then  she  can  meet  all 
her  Rockwell  friends." 

"  Yes,  that  will  be  lovely.     And  I  do  hope  she 
and  Delight  will  like  each  other." 

"  Why  of  course  they  will,   Midget.     There*s 
no  reason  why  they  shouldn't** 


CHAPTER  XIX 

A    VISIT    FROM    GLADYS 

GLADYS  came  Friday  afternoon  and  Marjorie  wel- 
comed her  with  open  arms,  truly  happy  to  see  her 
friend  again. 

"  Tell  me  all  about  your  new  home,  Glad,"  said 
Midge,  as  the  two  settled  themselves  on  either  end 
of  the  sofa  for  a  chat. 

"  Oh,  it's  just  lovely,  Mops.  It's  like  summer 
all  the  time.  And  the  flowers  are  in  bloom  all 
about,  and  the  birds  sing  in  the  trees,  and  every- 
body wears  white  dresses  and  summer  hats  even  in 
February." 

"  That  is  lovely.  And  is  your  father  getting 
better?" 

"  Yes,  some  better.  He  just  had  to  come  to 
New  York  on  some  business,  but  the  doctor  said  he 
must  not  stay  but  a  few  days.  So  we  have  to  start 
back  on  Tuesday." 

"  It's  a  shame.     I  wish  you  could  stay  longer." 

"  So  do  I.  But  I'm  glad  to  go  back,  too.  I  go 
268 


A  VISIT  FROM  GLADYS  269 

to  a  lovely  school  there,  and  I  know  the  nicest  girls 
and  boys." 

"  Nicer  than  Rockwell  children?  " 

"  Oh,  I  don't  know.  Yes,  I  guess  so.  My  most 
intimate  friend  is  a  lovely  girl.  Her  name  is 
Florence  Lawton.  Isn't  that  a  pretty  name?  " 

"  Why,  Gladys  Fulton !  I'm  your  most  inti- 
mate friend!  Do  you  like  her  better  than  me?" 

Gladys'  eyes  opened  wide. 

"  Midget  Maynard,"  she  said,  "  what  do  you 
mean?  Of  course  you  were  my  best  friend  here, 
but  when  I'm  out  there  don't  you  s'pose  I've  got 
to  have  somebody  else  to  play  with  and  to  tell 
secrets  to  ?  " 

Somehow  this  idea  made  Midget's  heart  lighter. 
It  justified  her  in  taking  Delight  as  a  chum  in 
Gladys'  place. 

"  Yes,  of  course,"  she  responded.  "  Our  letters 
don't  seem  to  amount  to  much,  do  they,  Glad?  " 

"  No,  I'm  no  good  at  all  at  writing  letters. 
Don't  you  have  any  chum  in  my  place,  Mopsy?  " 

"  Why,  yes,  I  s'pose  I  do,"  said  Marjorie, 
slowly,  for  it  was  just  beginning  to  dawn  on  her 
that  Delight  had  taken  Gladys'  place.  "  I'm  aw- 
fully good  friends  with  Delight  Spencer,  who  live* 
in  the  house  you  used  to  live  in." 


270         MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

"  Delight !  what  a  pretty  name." 

"  Yes,  and  she's  an  awfully  pretty  girl.  You'll 
see  her  while  you're  here,  of  course." 

Very  soon  the  first  strangeness  of  the  reunion 
was  over,  and  the  two  were  chatting  away  as  gaily 
as  if  they  had  never  been  separated. 

Then  Delight  came  over.  She  had  promised 
Marjorie  she'd  come  over  to  see  Gladys,  but  she 
came  rather  unwillingly.  The  truth  is,  she  felt  a 
little  jealous  of  Marjorie's  older  friend,  and  was 
not  prepared  to  like  her. 

Delight  was  dressed  in  some  of  her  prettiest 
clothes,  and  the  big  black  velvet  hat  on  her  fair 
golden  hair  made  a  lovely  picture. 

Gladys  thought  she  was  beautiful,  and  welcomed 
her  warmly,  but  Delight,  when  introduced,  seemed 
to  shrink  back  into  herself  and  sat  stiffly  on  the 
edge  of  a  chair,  holding  her  muff  and  saying 
nothing. 

"  Oh,  Delight,"  cried  Midget,  "  don't  act  like 
that.  Take  off  your  things,  and  let's  play." 

"  No,  I  can't  stay  but  a  few  minutes,"  said  De- 
light, primly. 

She  sat  there,  looking  very  uncomfortable,  and 
though  Midge  and  Gladys  tried  to  make  her  more 
chummy,  they  didn't  succeed. 


A  VISIT  FROM  GLADYS  27J 

Finally,  Delight  rose  to  go,  and  as  Gladys  didn't 
care  much  for  such  a  spoil  sport,  she  said  nothing 
to  detain  her.  Midget  went  to  the  door  with  her, 
and  as  Delight  went  out  she  turned  to  Midge,  with 
her  eyes  full  of  tears,  and  said :  "  You  like  her 
better  than  you  do  me,  so  I'll  go." 

"  Go  on,  then,"  said  Marjorie,  utterly  exas- 
perated by  such  foolishness,  as  she  considered  it. 

"  What  ails  her? "  said  Gladys,  as  Marjorie 
returned. 

"  Why,  I  suppose  it's  because  you're  here.  She 
never  acted  that  way  before.  You  see,  she's  a 
spoiled  child,  and  she  always  wants  everything  her 
own  way.  It's  awfully  funny,  Gladys,  but  I 
thought  maybe  you  wouldn't  like  her  and  here  it's 
the  other  way  about !  " 

"  Oh,  I  like  her,  or  at  least  I  would  if  she'd  let 
me.  I  think  she's  the  prettiest  girl  I  ever  saw. 
Don't  you?  " 

"  Yes,  I  do.  And  she's  awfully  nice,  too,  if  she 
didn't  have  this  tantrum  about  you." 

"  Oh,  well,  she'll  get  over  it,"  returned  Gladys ; 
"  I  shan't  be  here  long,  anyway." 

The  day  after  Gladys'  arrival  was  the  first 
Saturday  in  March. 

.First  Saturdays  were  usually  "  Ourdays,"  when 


272         MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

Mr.  Maynard  took  a  whole  day  from  his  business 
and  devoted  it  to  the  entertainment  of  his  children. 

It  was  King's  turn  to  choose  how  the  day  should 
be  spent,  but,  as  a  party  in  honor  of  Gladys  had 
been  arranged  for  the  afternoon,  there  was  only 
the  morning  to  choose  for. 

They  were  all  discussing  the  matter  the  night 
before,  and  King  kindly  offered  to  give  his  turn  to 
one  of  the  girls,  that  they  might  choose  something 
to  please  Gladys. 

"  No,  indeed,"  said  Midget.  "  We  like  boys' 
fun  as  well  as  girls'  fun ;  so  you  choose  ahead, 
King." 

*'  All  right,  then.  If  you  girls  agree,  I'd  like 
to  build  a  snow  fort.  This  is  a  jolly  deep  snow, 
the  best  we've  had  this  winter,  and  likely  the  last 
we'll  have.  Father's  a  jim  dandy  at  snow  games, 
and  we  could  have  an  out-of-door  frolic  in  the 
morning,  and  then  Glad's  party  in  the  house  in  the 
afternoon." 

"  Goody !  I  say  yes  to  that,"  cried  Midget. 

"  I  too,"  said  Gladys.  "  We  don't  have  any 
snow  in  California,  and  I  don't  know  when  I'll  see 
any  again." 

"  I'm  satisfied,"  said  Kitty,  "  can  I  ask  Dorothy 
over?** 


A  VISIT  FROM  GLADYS  273 

"  Yes,"  said  Mr.  Maynard ;  "  ask  anybody  you 
choose." 

So  next  morning,  soon  after  breakfast,  the 
children  put  on  all  the  warmest  wraps  they  could 
find,  and  in  tarn  o'shanter  caps,  tippets,  mittens 
and  leggings,  started  out  for  their  Ourday  fun. 

The  snow  was  more  than  a  foot  deep  all  over  the 
great  lawn,  and  Mr.  Maynard  selected  a  fine  place 
for  a  fort.  He  taught  the  boys, — for  King  had 
asked  Flip  to  come  over, — how  to  cut  and  pack 
great  blocks  of  solid  snow,  and  the  girls  he  showed 
how  to  make  balls  and  cones  for  decoration. 

Once  Midget  caught  sight  of  Delight  peeping 
across  at  them  from  behind  a  curtain.  "  I'm 
going  over  to  ask  her  to  come,"  she  said ;  "  I  didn't 
ask  her  before,  because  I  thought  she  wouldn't 
come.  But,  I  believe  she  will." 

So  Midge  scampered  across  the  street  and  rang 
the  Spencer's  door  bell. 

"  Won't  you  come  over  ?  "  she  said,  as  soon  as 
she  saw  Delight.  "  It's  an  Ourday,  and  we're  hav- 
ing such  fun ! " 

"  No,  thank  you,"  said  Delight ;  "  you  don't 
need  me  when  you  have  Gladys." 

"  Don't  be  silly !  "  said  Midget.  "  What's  the 
reason  I  can't  play  with  you  both?  Come  on." 


274         MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

"  Oh,  I  don't  want  to  come,"  said  Delight 
pettishly.  "  Go  on  back." 

So  Marjorie  went  back,  alone,  walking  slowly, 
for  she  couldn't  understand  Delight's  behavior. 

But  once  again  in  the  fun  of  the  snow  play,  she 
forgot  all  about  her  ill-natured  little  neighbor. 

They  built  a  grand  fort,  with  a  flag  waving 
from  its  summit,  and  then  with  soft  snowballs  for 
ammunition,  they  chose  sides  and  had  the  merriest 
kind  of  a  battle.  Afterward  they  built  a  snow  man 
and  a  snow  woman. 

These  were  of  heroic  size,  so  big  that  Mr.  May- 
nard  had  to  climb  a  step-ladder  to  put  their  heads 
in  place. 

The  man,  according  to  the  time-honored  tradi- 
tion of  all  snow  men,  wore  a  battered  old  high  hat, 
and  had  a  pipe  in  his  mouth,  while  the  old  woman 
wore  a  sun  bonnet  and  checked  apron. 

They  were  comical  figures,  indeed,  and  when 
they  were  completed  it  was  time  to  go  in  to 
luncheon,  and  Dorothy  and  Flip  scampered  for 
their  homes. 

"  Now,  gentlemen  of  the  jury,"  said  Mr.  May- 
nard,  at  the  lunch  table,  "  as  we  have  still  two 
good  hours  before  it's  time  to  array  ourselves  in 
purple  and  fine  linen  for  the  party,  suppose  we 


A  VISIT  FROM  GLADYS  275 

continue  our  outdoor  sports  and  go  for  a  sleigh 
ride?  It's  up  to  you,  King." 

"  Fine !  "  agreed  King.  "  If  it  suits  the  ladies 
of  the  castle." 

"It  do,"  said  Kitty;  "the  ladies  fair  would 
fain  go  for  a  sleigh  ride.  May  I  ask  Doro- 
thy?" 

"  Not  this  time,  Kittums,"  said  her  father. 
"  I've  ordered  a  big  double  sleigh,  and  we'll  just 
fill  it  comfortably." 

And  so  they  did,  with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Maynard 
on  the  wide  back  seat  and  Rosy  Posy  between 
them:  Midget,  Gladys,  and  Kitty  facing  them, 
and  King  up  on  the  box  with  the  driver. 

A  span  of  big  powerful  horses  took  them  flying 
over  the  snow,  and  the  crisp,  keen  air  made  their 
cheeks  rosy  and  their  eyes  bright. 

It  was  a  fine  sleigh  ride,  and  the  jingling  bells 
made  a  merry  accompaniment  to  the  children's 
chatter  and  laughter. 

"Ice  cream,  Kitty?"  asked  her  father  as  they 
entered  a  small  town,  and  drew  up  before  the 
funny  little  inn  that  was  its  principal  hostelry 

"  No,  sir ! "  said  Kitty,  whose  teeth  were  chat- 
tering, "  it's  too  cold !  " 

"  Well,  I  never  expected  to  live  long  enough  to 


276         MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

hear  Kitty  say  no  to  ice  cream ! "  exclaimed  Mrs. 
Maynard  in  surprise. 

"  It's  a  cold  day  when  that  happens,  isn't  it 
Kit?  "  asked  her  father.  "  Well,  jump  out  then, 
and  stamp  your  toes,  and  thaw  your  ears." 

They  all  went  into  the  little  inn,  and  warmed 
themselves  by  the  fire,  and  had  a  drink  of  hot  milk 
or  hot  soup,  as  they  preferred,  and  then  bundled 
back  into  the  sleigh  for  the  homeward  ride. 

"  I'm  not  cold  now,"  said  Kitty,  cuddling  into 
the  fur  robes. 

The  horses  dashed  back  again  over  the  snow, 
and  soon  after  three  o'clock  they  were  at 
home. 

The  party  was  at  four,  so  there  was  ample  time 
to  get  ready. 

"  What  kind  of  a  party  is  it  to  be  father?  " 
asked  Midge.  "  Any  special  kind?  " 

"  Special  kind?  "  said  Mr.  Maynard;  "  I  should 
say  so !  It's  an  animal  party,  to  be  sure ! " 

"  An  animal  party  ?  "  said  Gladys,  to  Midge,  as 
they  went  upstairs  to  dress ;  "  what  does  he 
mean?  " 

"  I  don't  know.  You  never  can  tell  what 
Father's  going  to  do.  Especially  on  an  Ourday. 
He  always  gets  up  lovely  things  for  Ourdays." 


A  VISIT  FROM  GLADYS  277 

"  He's  a  j  oily  man,"  said  Gladys ;  "  I  never  saw 
anybody  like  him." 

"  Nor  I  either,"  agreed  Midge ;  "  I  think  he's 
just  perfect." 

The  little  girls  all  wore  white  dresses,  each  with 
a  different  colored  ribbon,  and  were  all  ready,  and 
sitting  in  state,  at  ten  minutes  before  the  hour  ap- 
pointed for  the  party. 

"  Isn't  Delight  coming,  Mopsy  ?  "  asked  Mrs. 
Maynard. 

"  No,  mother ;  I  just  telephoned  her,  and  she 
won't  come.  She's  acting  up  foolish  about  Glad, 
you  know." 

"  Indeed  it  is  foolish,"  said  Mrs.  Maynard,  look- 
ing annoyed ;  "  I  think  I'll  run  over  there  and  see 
what  I  can  do." 

"  Oh,  do,  Mother ;  you  always  make  everything 
come  out  all  right." 

"  But  I  don't  know  whether  I  can  make  a  silly 
little  girl  come  out  all  right;  however,  I'll  try." 

Mrs.  Maynard  threw  on  some  wraps  and  went 
over  to  the  house  across  the  street. 

What  arguments  she  used,  or  what  she  said  to 
Delight,  Marjorie  never  knew,  but  she  returned, 
after  a  time,  bringing  both  Delight  and  Miss  Hart 
with  her. 


278         MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

Delight  made  a  beautiful  picture  in  a  filmy,  lacy 
white  frock,  and  a  big  blue  bow  on  her  golden 
curls. 

"  Hello,  Flossy  Flouncy  !  "  cried  King,  and  this 
broke  the  ice,  and  made  it  easier  for  Delight  than 
a  more  formal  greeting  would  have  done. 

"  Hello,  Old  King  Cole !  "  she  responded,  and 
then  a  number  of  other  people  came,  and  a  general 
hubbub  of  conversation  ensued. 

"  This  is  an  animal  party,"  said  Mr.  Maynard, 
when  all  the  guests  had  arrived.  "  Now  where 
were  the  most  animals  ever  gathered  together  ?  " 

"  In  the  circus ! "  cried  one  boy,  and  another 
said,  "  In  the  menagerie." 

"  Try  again,"  said  Mr.  Maynard ;  "  not  right 
yet!" 

"  Hippodrome,"  shouted  somebody,  and  "  zoo  !  " 
cried  somebody  else,  but  to  each  Mr.  Maynard 
shook  his  head. 

"  Go  farther  back,"  he  said ;  "  what  was  the  first 
collection  of  animals  in  the  world  ?  " 

And  then  Delight  thought  what  he  meant,  and 
cried  out,  "  Noah's  Ark !  " 

"  Of  course !  "  said  Mr.  Maynard.  "  That's  the 
place  I  meant.  Well,  then,  here's  an  ark  for  each 
of  you,  and  you  can  each  play  you're  Noah." 


A  VISIT  FROM  GLADYS  279 

He  whisked  a  table  cover  off  of  a  table  by  his 
side,  and  there  was  a  great  pile  of  toy  Noah's 
arks.  King  and  Flip  distributed  them,  until 
everybody  had  one. 

"  Why,  they're  empty  ?  "  cried  Midge,  looking 
into  hers. 

"  They  won't  be  long,"  said  her  father.  "  Now, 
young  people,  scatter,  and  fill  your  arks  with 
animals.  Pretend  you're  hunting  in  the  jungle, 
or  whatever  you  like,  but  capture  all  the  animals 
you  can  find  for  your  arks.  There  are  hundreds 
in  these  two  rooms  and  the  halls." 

"Hidden?"  asked  Kitty. 

"  Yes,  hidden  and  in  plain  sight,  both.  But 
wait;  there's  a  schedule." 

Mr.  Maynard  unfolded  a  paper,  and  read: 

"  Elephants  count  five,  tigers  ten,  lions  fifteen, 
bears  five,  kangaroos  five,  cats  five ;  all  two-legged 
animals  or  birds  two,  fishes  one,  camels  twenty-five, 
and  zebras  fifty.  After  your  arks  are  filled,  we'll 
count  them  up  according  to  schedule,  and  award 
prizes.  Now,  sco^t !  "  They  scooted,  and  spent 
a  merry  half  hour  hunting  the  animals.  They 
found  them  in  all  sorts  of  places, — tucked  in  behind 
curtains,  under  sofa-pillows,  between  books,  and 
round  among  the  bric-a-brac  on  mantels  and  tables. 


280         MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

They  were  the  little  wooden  animals  that  belonged 
in  the  arks,  and  the  children  were  greatly  amused 
when  they  discovered,  also,  the  small,  queer  little 
people  that  represent  Noah  and  his  family. 

"  I  s'pose  as  these  are  two-legged  animals  they 
count  as  birds,"  said  King. 

"  Yes,"  said  Mr.  Maynard,  "  all  bipeds  count 
alike." 

As  Marjorie  made  a  dive  for  a  tiger  which  she 
saw  in  the  lower  part  of  the  hall  hatrack,  somebody 
else  dived  for  it  at  the  very  same  moment. 

It  was  Delight,  and  both  girls  sat  suddenly  down 
on  the  floor,  laughing  at  their  bumped  heads. 

But  when  Delight  saw  that  it  was  Midget,  she 
stopped  laughing  and  looked  sober,  and  even  sour. 

"  Don't,  Delight,"  said  Marjorie,  gently,  and 
putting  her  arms  round  her  friend,  she  kissed  her 
lovingly. 

This  melted  Delight's  foolish  little  heart,  and 
she  whispered,  "  Oh,  Midge,  you  do  like  me  best, 
don't  you?" 

But  Midge  was  in  no  mood  for  emotional  demon- 
stration down  under  the  hatrack,  so  she  scrambled 
up,  saying,  "  I  shan't  if  you  act  as  foolish  as  you 
have  done.  You  behave  decently  to  Gladys  and 
to  nie,  and  then  see  what'll  happen." 


A  VISIT  FROM  GLADYS  281 

With  this  Midge  calmly  walked  away  and  col- 
lected more  animals,  while  Delight,  rather  stunned 
by  this  summary  advice,  jumped  up  and  went 
after  animals,  too. 

At  last  the  collecting  was  over  and  the  children 
brought  their  arks  to  Mr.  Maynard.  With  Miss 
Kart  to  help  him,  it  didn't  take  very  long  to 
figure  out  the  schedule  value  of  each  ark-full,  and 
prizes  were  given  to  those  three  whose  score  was 
highest. 

Flip  Henderson  had  first  prize,  and  Delight  had 
second,  while  the  third  went  to  Harry  Frost.  De- 
light was  greatly  pleased,  and  Marjorie  was  glad, 
too,  for  she  thought  it  might  make  her  more 
amiable. 

But  that  wasn't  the  reason ;  the  real  reason  was 
because  Midge  had  kissed  her,  and  then  had  scolded 
her  roundly.  This  combination  of  treatment  af- 
fected the  strange  little  heart  of  Delight,  and  she 
began  at  once  to  be  nice  and  pleasant  to  Gladys 
and  to  everybody. 

The  next  game  was  like  Jackstraws,  but  it 
Wasn't  Jackstraws. 

All  the  ark-fulls  of  animals  were  emptied  out 
into  a  heap  on  the  table,  and  the  children  sat 
round.  Each  was  given  a  teaspoon,  and  with  this 


282         MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

they  must  remove  as  many  animals  as  possible 
without  moving  any  other  than  the  one  touched. 
They  might  use  either  end  of  the  teaspoon,  but 
must  not  use  their  fingers. 

The  animals  counted  as  in  the  former  schedule, 
and  as  each  was  picked  from  the  pile  it  was  given 
to  Miss  Hart,  and  she  credited  it  to  the  player  who 
took  it. 

Of  course,  as  in  Jackstraws,  if  one  made  a  mis- 
play  it  was  the  next  player's  turn.  This  game  was 
great  fun,  and  they  watched  each  other  breath- 
lessly, though  careful  not  to  joggle  anybody. 

"  Now,  Flossy  Flouncy,"  cried  King,  "  it's  your 
turn.  In  you  go !  Catch  a  camel  first  thing !  " 

Delight  was  a  little  embarrassed  at  King's 
raillery,  but  she  was  bound  she  wouldn't  show  it, 
and  her  slim  little  white  fingers  grasped  the  tea- 
spoon firmly. 

She  only  took  off  a  few,  for  the  excitement  of  it 
made  her  nervous  and  her  hand  shook.  But  she 
was  glad  she  didn't  win  a  prize  in  that  game,  for 
nobody  likes  to  win  two  prizes  at  the  same  partj, 


CHESST    CATS 

AFTER  that  game  they  played  several  other  an- 
imal games,  some  quiet  and  some  noisy,  and  then 
Mr.  Maynard  announced  that  they  would  play 
"  Chessy  Cats." 

«*  What  in  the  world  is  that?  "  said  Gladys  to 
King.  "  I  never  heard  of  it." 

"  Nor  I,"  he  responded ;  "  probably  Father  made 
it  up.  Well,  we'll  soon  see." 

Mr.  Maynard  chose  two  captains,  one  being 
Gladys,  as  it  was  really  her  party,  and  the  other 
Flip  Henderson. 

These  two  captains  were  asked  to  stand  opposite 
each  other  at  the  end  of  the  room,  and  to  "  choose 
sides." 

"  You  must  each,"  said  Mr.  Maynard,  "  choose 
the  girls  or  boys  who  seem  to  you  most  like  Chessy 
Cats." 

'This  advice  was  not  very  intelligible,  but  as  it 
was  Gladys'  turn  to  choose  first,  she  chose  King, 
283 


284        MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

Then  Flip  chose  Mar j  one,  as  it  seemed  to  him 
polite  to  take  his  hostess. 

Then  in  a  burst  of  good  feeling  Gladys  chose 
Delight,  and  though  she  wanted  to  refuse,  she 
stifled  her  ill-nature  and  stood  up  next  to 
King. 

Then  the  choosing  went  on  until  all  were  taken, 
and  the  two  long  lines  stood  on  either  side  of  the 
room. 

"  You  see,"  said  Mr.  Maynard,  "  this  is  a  con- 
test of  happiness.  I  want  to  see  which  line  of 
children  represents  the  greater  amount  of  merri- 
ment. Will  you  all  please  smile?  " 

Every  face  broke  into  a  grin,  and  Mr.  Maynard 
looked  at  them  thoughtfully. 

"  You  all  seem  happy,"  he  said ;  "  a  fine  lot  of 
Chessy  Cats.  You  know  Chessy  Cats  are  remark- 
able for  their  wide  grins.  But  as  I  have  a  prize 
for  the  side  that  shows  most  grin,  I  have  to  be 
careful  of  my  decision.  Miss  Hart,  if  you  will 
help  me,  I  think  we'll  have  to  find  out  exactly 
which  row  of  Chessy  Cats  grins  the  widest." 

Miss  Hart,  smiling  like  a  Chessy  Cat  herself, 
came  forward  with  a  lot  of  short  strips  of  white 
paper  in  her  hand.  She  gave  half  of  these  to  Mr. 
Maynard,  and  then  the  fun  began. 


CHESSY  CATS  285 

{They  actually  measured  each  child's  grin, 
marking  on  the  paper  with  a  pencil  the  exact 
lengt  of  each  mouth  from  corner  to  corner  as  it 
was  stretched  in  a  smile.  Of  course  a  fresh  paper 
was  used  for  each,  and  wide  indeed  was  the  grin 
when  the  grinner  realized  the  absurdity  of  having 
his  smile  measured! 

Then,  of  course,  each  tried  to  grin  his  very 
widest,  for  the  success  of  his  line  and  the  glory 
of  his  captain.  Delight's  little  rosebud  mouth 
couldn't  make  a  very  wide  grin,  but  she  stretched 
it  as  wide  as  possible,  showing  her  pretty  white 
teeth,  and  held  it  motionless  while  it  was  measured. 

It  was  astonishing  how  wide  some  of  them  could 
stretch  their  smiling  mouths,  and  how  absurd  they 
looked  while  standing  stock  still  to  be  measured. 
Their  ridiculous  grimaces  caused  shouts  of 
laughter  from  the  Chessy  Cats  who  were  not  being 
measured  at  the  moment. 

"  Midget !  she's  the  one  that  counts !  "  cried 
King.  "  She's  got  a  smile  like  an  earthquake ! 
Flossy  Flouncy,  here,  she  won't  count  half  as 
much!" 

Marjorie  only  laughed  at  King's  comment,  and 
Spread  her  rosy  lips  in  a  desperate  effort  to  beat 
the  record. 


286         MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

At  last  all  were  measured,  and  taking  a  pair  of 
scissors,  Miss  Hart  clipped  the  ends  off  the 
papers  where  the  mark  was,  and  thus  each  paper 
represented  the  exact  width  of  a  smile. 

The  papers  of  each  side  were  then  placed  end  to 
end,  and  the  whole  length  measured.  The  result 
was  fifty-four  inches  of  smile  for  Flip's  side,  and 
Sfty-two  for  Gladys'. 

"  Hooray,  Mopsy !  "  cried  King.  "  I  knew, 
your  mouth  was  two  inches  bigger  than  De- 
light's!" 

"  Oh,  no,  brother,"  rejoined  Midge,  "  it's  be- 
cause your  mouth  is  so  tiny  you  can't  smile  very 
well!" 

But  whatever  the  reason,  there  was  a  good  two 
inches  difference  in  the  aggregate,  so  Flip  Hender- 
son's side  was  the  winner. 

"  As  all  the  Chessy  Cats  grinned  nobly,  you 
must  all  have  prizes,"  said  Mr.  Maynard,  and  so 
to  the  winning  side  were  given  boxes  of  candy  with 
a  funny  figure  of  a  grinning  Chessy  Cat  on  top. 
Both  boxes  and  cats  were  bright  red,  and  gay  lit- 
tle prizes  they  were. 

"  But  as  the  other  side  were  too  sad  and  solemn 
to  grin  broadly,  we'll  give  them  black  cats,"  said 
Mr.  Maynard,  and  all  of  Gladys'  line  received 


CHESSY  CATS  287 

prizes  exactly  like  the  others,  except  that  the  cats 
were  black.  Of  course,  they  were  equally  pretty 
and  desirable,  and  were  really  souvenirs  of  the 
party  instead  of  prizes. 

Then  they  all  went  to  the  dining-room  for  sup- 
per. Miss  Hart  played  a  merry  march  on  the 
piano,  and  King,  escorting  Gladys,  went  first, 
Marjorie  and  Flip  followed,  and  then  all  the 
children  came,  two  by  two. 

To  carry  out  the  idea  of  an  "  animal  party,"  the 
table  had  been  cleverly  arranged  to  represent  a 
farmyard.  All  the  middle  part  of  it  was  en- 
closed by  a  little  fence  that  ran  along  just  inside 
the  plates,  and  in  the  enclosure  were  toy  animals 
of  all  sorts.  Downy  yellow  chickens,  furry  cats, 
woolly  sheep,  and  comical  roosters  stood  about  in- 
gay  array.  Also  there  were  Teddy  Bears,  and 
possums  and  even  lions  and  tigers,  which  though 
not  usually  found  in  farmyards,  seemed  amicably 
disposed  enough.  A  delightful  feast  was  eaten, 
and  then,  for  dessert,  Sarah  brought  in  a  great 
platter  of  ice  cream  in  forms  of  animals.  And 
with  these  animals  crackers  were  served,  and  many 
merry  jests  were  made  as  the  children  bit  off  the 
heads  of  ferocious  wild  beasts,  or  stabbed  the  ice 
eream  animals  with  their  spoons.  As  they  left  the 


288         MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

table,  each  guest  was  invited  to  take  one  animal 
from  the  "  farmyard,"  to  carry  away. 

Rosy  Posy  announced  frankly,  "  Don't  any- 
buddy  take  de  Teddy  Bear,  'cause  me  wants  it." 

They  all  laughed,  and  needless  to  say,  the  bear 
was  left  for  the  baby,  whose  turn  came  last. 

Delight  chose  a  little  white  kitten,  with  a  blue 
ribbon  round  its  neck,  and  Gladys  took  a  fierce- 
looking  tiger. 

Everyody  agreed  they  had  never  attended  a 
jollier  party,  and  the  smiles,  as  they  said  good-bye, 
were  indeed  of  the  Chessy  Cat  variety. 

"  Ourday  isn't  over  yet,  Father,"  said  Midge, 
after  the  last  guest  had  gone. 

"  Oho,  I  think  it's  time  little  Chessy  Cats  went 
to  bed,"  said  Mr.  Maynard. 

"  No,  indeed !  the  party  was  from  four  to  seven, 
and  though  they  staid  a  little  later,  it's  only  half- 
past  seven  now.  And  Ourday  nights  we  always 
stay  up  till  half -past  eight." 

"  My  stars !  a  whole  hour  more  of  Chessy  Cats ! 
That's  enough  to  make  any  one  grin.  All  right 
Midgety,  what  do  you  want  me  to  do  ?  " 

"It's  King's  choose,"  said  Marjorie;  "it's  his 
Ourday,  you  know." 

So  King  chose  "  Twenty  Questions,"  a  game  of 


CHESSY  CATS  289 

which  he  never  tired,  and  a  jolly  hour  they  all 
spent  in  playing  it. 

Then  bedtime  was  definitely  announced,  and  it 
was  a  lot  of  rather  tired  Chessy  Cats  who  climbed 
the  stairs,  after  many  and  repeated  good-nights. 

As  Gladys'  visit  was  to  be  such  a  short  one  Mrs. 
Maynard  advised  Midget  not  to  go  to  lessons  dur- 
ing her  stay. 

Marjorie  was  a  little  disappointed  at  this,  but 
she  couldn't  very  well  go  off  and  leave  Gladys,  and 
it  would  have  been  awkward  to  take  her,  so  she 
staid  away  herself.  The  two  girls  had  good  times, 
and  both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Maynard  planned  many 
pleasant  things  for  their  enjoyment,  but  still 
Marjorie  was  not  altogether  sorry  when  on  Tues- 
day Gladys  took  her  departure. 

"  What's  this  fuss  about  Gladys  and  Delight?  " 
asked  Mr.  Maynard,  as  they  all  sat  chatting  Tues- 
'day  evening. 

"  Oh,  Father,  it's  so  silly!"  said  Marjorie;  "  I 
don't  know  what  to  make  of  Delight.  It  isn't  a 
bit  Glad's  fault.  She  was  as  sweet  as  pie;  but 
Delight  was  as  sour  as  buttermilk." 

"  She's  jealous,  I  suppose." 

"  Yes,  I  suppose  that's  it.  But,  you  see,  Father, 
she's  a  duTerent  girl  from  us." 


290        MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

"  Different  how?  " 

"  Oh,  I  don't  know  exactly.  But  she's  sort  of  a 
spoiled  child,  you  know,  and  whatever  she  has,  she 
hates  to  have  any  one  else  touch  it." 

"  Even  you." 

"  Yes,  even  me.  I  like  Delight  an  awful  lot,  but 
I  like  Gladys  too." 

"  Of  course  you  do.  Now,  Midget,  listen  to 
your  old  and  wise  Father.  Forget  all  this  foolish- 
ness. Gladys  is  gone  now,  and  Delight  is  your 
very  good  friend,  your  best  friend  in  Rockwell. 
Just  keep  on  being  friends  with  her,  and  do  all  you 
can  to  be  a  good  friend.  Don't  discuss  Gladys 
with  her,  don't  discuss  her  actions,  or  her  jealousy, 
or  whatever  foolishness  is  in  her  pretty  little 
noddle.  You  are  both  too  young  to  take  these 
things  seriously.  But  if  you  are  a  kind,  loyal  lit- 
tle friend  to  her,  she  will  soon  learn  to  be  the  same 
to  you." 

"  But,  Father,  she  wants  me  all  to  herself.  She 
Soesn't  like  to  have  me  be  friends  with  the  other 
girls  in  Rockwell  even." 

"  That  you  mustn't  stand.  Just  go  on  in  your 
pwn  way.  Be  friendly  with  whom  you  choose,  but 
always  be  kind  and  considerate  of  Delight's  feel- 
ings. Of  course,  you  two  having  your  lessons 


CHESSY  CATS  291 

alone  together  is  largely  responsible  for  this  state 
of  things.  School  would  be  better  for  you  both 
in  many  ways.  But  you  like  the  present  arrange- 
ment, and  Miss  Hart  is  a  blessing  to  you  both.  I 
think  she  can  help  you  in  persuading  Delight  to  be 
a  little  less  exacting." 

"  Yes,  Father,  she  does ;  she  understands  the 
case,  and  she's  always  trying  to  make  Delight  less 
selfish." 

"  And  perhaps, — I  hate  to  suggest  it, — but 
possibly  Miss  Mopsy  Maynard  might  have  some 
little  tiny  speck  of  a  fault, — just  a  microscopic 
flaw  in  her  character " 

"  Now,  Father,  don't  tease !  I  know  I  have ! 
I'm  a  bad,  impulsive,  mischievous  old  thing,  and  I 
never  think  in  time, — then  the  first  thing  I  know 
I've  done  something  awful!  Delight's  not  a  bit 
like  that." 

"  Oh,  you  needn't  give  yourself  such  a  dreadful 
character.  I  know  you  pretty  well,  and  I'm  quite 
pleased,  on  the  whole,  with  my  eldest  daughter. 
But  I  do  want  you  to  learn  to  be  a  little  less  heed- 
less; you  know  heedlessness  is,  after  all,  a  sort  of 
selfishness, — a  disregard  of  others'  convenience." 

"  I'm  going  to  try,  Father.  I'll  try  real  hard, 
and  if  I  don't  succeed,  I'll  try,  try  again." 


292        MARJORIE'S  NEW  FRIEND 

"  That's  my  good  little  Mopsy.     Now,  skip  to 

bed,  and  don't  let  these  serious  matters  keep  you 

awake.     Forget  them,  and  dream  of  fairies  and 

princesses  dressed  in  pearls  and  roses  and  all  sorts 

of  lovely  things." 

"  And  blue  velvet  robes  trimmed  with  ermine  ?  *"" 
"  Yes,  and  golden  sceptres,  and  swanboats  to 

ride  in  on  lakes  where  pond  lilies  bloom." 

"  And  golden  chariots,  with  milk  white  steeds. 

garlanded  with  flowers." 

"  Yes, — and  that's  about  all ;  good-night.** 

*'  And  enchanted  carpets  that  carry  you  in  a 

minute  to  India  and  Arabia." 

"  Yes,  and  upstairs  to  bed !     Good-night." 

"  And     knights     in     armor,     with     glittering 

spears " 

"  Good-night,  Marjorie  Maynard !  " 

"  Good-night,  Father.     And  rose-gardens  with 

fountains  and  singing  birds " 

"Skip,     you     rascal!       Scamper,    fly,     scoot? 

,Good-night  for  the  last  time !  " 

^    "  Good-night,"  called  Marjorie,  half  way  UD-* 

Stairs,  "  good-night,  Father  dear." 
**  Good-night,  Midget,  good-night." 


JHE  GIRLS    OF    CENTRAL 
HIGH    SERIES 

rBy  GERTRUDE  W.  MORRISON 

— • 

12mo.  BOUND  IN  CLOTH.       ILLUSTRATED.       UNIFORM  STYLE  OF  BINDING. 

Here  is  a  series  full  of  the  spirit  of  high  school  life  of  to- 
day. The  girls  are  real  flesh-and-blood  characters,  and  we  fol- 
low them  with  interest  in  school  and  out  There  are  many 
contested  matches  on  track  and  field,  and  on  the  water,  as  well 
as  doings  in  the  classroom  and  on  the  school  stage.  There  is 
plenty  of  fun  and  excitement,  all  clean,  pure  and  wholesome. 

THE  GIRLS  OF  CENTRAL  HIGH 
jOr  Rivals  for  all  Honors. 

A  stirring  tale  of  high  school  life,  full  of  fun,  with"  a  touco 
of  mystery  and  a  strange  initiation. 

THE  GIRLS  OF  CENTRAL  HIGH  ON  LAKE  LUNA 
pr  The  Crew  That  Won. 

Celling  of  water  sports  and  fun  galore,  and  of  fine  times  in  camp, 

THE  GIRLS  OF  CENTRAL  HIGH  AT  BASKETBALL 
Or  The  Great  Gymnasium  Mystery. 

Here  we  have  a  number  of  thrilling  contests  at  basketball  and  la 
Bfldltion,  the  solving  of  a  mystery,  which,  had  bothered  the  higfc 
school  authorities  for  a  long  while. 

THE  GIRLS  OF  CENTRAL  HIGH  ON  THE  STAGE 
Or  The  Play  That  Took  the  Prize. 

How  the  girla  went  in  for  theatricals  and  how  one  of  them  wrot« 
fc  play  which  afterward  was  made,  over  for  the  professional  stags 
land  brought  in  .some  much-needed  money. 

(THE  GIRLS  OF,  CENTRAL  HIGH  ON  TRACK  AND 

FIELD 
!Dr  The  Girl  Champions  of  the  School  League 

This  story  takes  in  high  school  athletics  in  their  moat  approve* 
and  up-to-date  fashion.  Full  of  fun  and  excitement. 

THE  GIRLS  OF  CENTRAL  HIGH  IN  CAMP 
Or  The  Old  Professor's  Secret 

The  girls  went  camping  on  Acorn  Island  and  had  a  delightful 
time  at  boating,  swimming  and  picnic  parties. 


GROSSET  &  DUNLAP,          PUBLISHERS,         NEW  YORK 


THE  MOVING  PICTURE  GIRLS 
SERIES 

By  LAURA  LEE  HOPE 

Author  of  "The  Bobbsey  Twins  Series." 
12mo.  BOUND  IN  CLOTH.       ILLUSTRATED.       UNIFORM  STYLE  OF  BINDING 

The  adventures  of  Ruth  and  Alice  DeVere.  Their  father, 
a  widower,  is  an_  actor  who  has  taken  up  work  for  the 
"movies."  eBpth  girls  wish  to  aid  him  in  his  work  and  visit 
various  localities  to  act  in  all  sorts  of  pictures. 

THE  MOVING  PICTURE  GIRLS 

Or  First  Appearance  in  Photo  Dramas,. 

Having  lost  his  voice,  the  father  of  the  girls  goes  into  the  movies 
and  the  girls  follow.  Tells  how  many  "parlor  dramas"  are  filmed. 

THE  MOVING  PICTURE  GIRLS  AT  OAK  FARM 
Or  Queer  Happenings  While  Taking  Rural  Plays. 

Full  of  fun  in  the  country,  the  haps  and  mishaps  of  taking  film 
plays,  and  giving  an  account  of  two  unusual  discoveries. 

THE  MOVING  PICTURE  GIRLS.  SNOWBOUND 
Or  The  Proof  on  the  Film. 

'    A   tale   of  winter    adventures   in   the  wilderness,   showing   how   th« 
photo-play  actors   sometimes  suffer. 

THE  MOVING  PICTURE  GIRLS  UNDER  THE  PALMS 
Or  Lost  in  the  Wilds  of  Florida. 

How  they  went  to  the  land  of  palms,  played  many  parts  in  dramas 
before  the  camera;  were  lost,  and  aided  others  who  were  also  lost. 

THE  MOVING  PICTURE  GIRLS  AT  ROCKY  RANCH 
Or  Great  Days  Among  the  Cowboys. 

All  who  have  ever  seen  moving  pictures  of  the  great  West  will 
want_  to  know  just  how  they  are  made.  This  volume  gives  every  detail 
and  is  full  of  clean  fun  and  excitement. 

THE  MOVING  PICTURE  GIRLS  AT  SEA 

Or  a  Pictured  Shipwreck  that  Became  Real. 

'    A  thrilling  account  of  the  girls'  experiences  on  the  water. 

THE  MOVING  PICTURE  GIRLS  IN  WAR  PLAYS 
Or  The  Sham  Battles  at  Oak  Farm. 

The  girls  play  important  parts  in  big  battle  scenes  and  have  plenty 
of  hard  work  along  with  considerable  fun. 

GROSSET  &  DUNLAP,        PUBLISHERS,        NEW 


THE  BOYS  OF  COLUMBIA  HIGH 
SERIES 

By  GRAHAM  B.  FORBES 

Never  was  there  a  cleaner,  brighter,  more  manly  boy 
than  Frank  Allen,  the  hero  of  this  series  of  boys'  tales,  and 
never  was  there  a  better  crowd  of  lads  to  associate  with  than 
the  students  of  the  School.  All  boys  will  read  these  stories 
with  deep  interest  The  rivalry  between  the  towns  along  the 
river  was  of  the  keenest,  and  plots  and  counterplots  to  win 
the  champions,  at  baseball,  at  football,  at  boat  racing,  at 
track  athletics,  and  at  ice  hockey,  were  without  number. 
Any  lad  reading  one  volume  of  this  series  will  surely  want 
the  others. 

THE  BOYS  OF  COLUMBIA  HIGH 
Or  The  All  Around  Rivals  of  the  School 

THE  BOYS  OF  COLUMBIA  HIGH  ON  THE  DIAMOND^ 
Or  Winning  Out  by  Pluck 

THE  BOYS  OF  COLUMBIA  HIGH  ON  THE  RIVER 
Or  The  Boat  Race  Plot  that  Failed 

THE  BOYS  OF  COLUMBIA  HIGH  ON  THE  GRIDIRON; 
Or  The  Struggle  for  the  Silver  Cup 

THE  BOYS  OF  COLUMBIA  HIGH  ON  THE  ICE 
Or  Out  for  the  Hockey  Championship 

THE  BOYS  OF  COLUMBIA  HIGH  IN  TRACK  ATH- 
LETICS 
Or  A  Long  Run  that  Won  ^ 

THE  BOYS  OF  COLUMBIA  HIGH  IN  WINTER  SPORTS 
Or  Stirring  Doings  on  Skates  and  Iceboats 

12mo.  Illustrated.  Handsomely  bound  in  cloth,  with  cover 
design  and  wrappers  in  colors. 

GROSSET  &  DUNLAP,        PUBLISHERS,        NEW  YORK 


THE  OUTDOOR  CHUMS  SERIES 

By  CAPTAIN  QUINCY  ALLEN 

The  outdoor  chums  are  four  wide-awake  lads,  sons  of, 
Wealthy  men  of  a  small  city  located  on  a  lake.  The  boys 
love  outdoor  life,  and  are  greatly  interested  in  hunting,  fish-! 
ing,  and  picture  taking.  They  have  motor  cycles,  motor 
boats,  canoes,  etc.,  and  during  their  vacations  go  everywhere 
and  have  all  sorts  of  thrilling  adventures.  The  stories  give 
full  directions  fcr  camping  out,  how  to  fish,  how  to  hunt  wild 
animals  and  prepare,  the  skins  for  stuffing,  how  to  manage  a 
canoe,  how  to  swim,  etc.  Full  of  the  spirit  of  outdoor  lifo 

THE  OUTDOOR  CHUMS 

Or  The  First  Tour  of  the  Rod,  Gun  and  Camera  Club, 

THE  OUTDOOR  CHUMS  ON  THE  LAKE 
Or  Lively  Adventures  on  Wildcat  Island. 

THE  OUTDOOR  CHUMS  IN  THE  FOREST 
Or  Laying  the  Ghost  of  Oak  Ridge. 

THE  OUTDOOR  CHUMS  ON  THE  GULF! 
Or  Rescuing  the  Lost  Balloonists. 

THE  OUTDOOR  CHUMS  AFTER  BIG  GAME 
.Or  Perilous  Adventures  in  the  Wilderness. 

,THE  OUTDOOR  CHUMS.  ON  .A  HOUSEBOAT 
)0r  The  Rivals  of  the  Mississippi. 

THE  OUTDOOR  CHUMS  IN  THE  BIG  WOODS 
Or  The  Rival  Hunters  at  Lumber  Run. 


Or  The  Golden  Cup  Mystery, 

'    12mo.      Averaging  240  page*      Illustrated.      Handsomel? 
bound  in  Cloth. 

JGROSSET   &   DUNLAP,  PUBLISHERS,  NEW 


THE    BUNNY    BROWN    SERIES 

By  LAURA  LEE  HOPE 

Author  of  the  Popular  "Bobbsey  Twins"  Books 

Wrapper  and  text  illustrations  drawn  by 
FLORENCE   ENGLAND   NOSWORTHY 

12mo.     DURAELY   BOUND.     ILLUSTRATED.     UNIFORM   STYLE  OF  BINDING 

These  stories  by  the  author  of  the  "Bobbsey  Twins"  Books 
are  eagerly  welcomed  by  the  little  folks  from  about  five  to  ten 
years  of  age.  Their  eyes  fairly  dance  with  delight  at  the  lively 
doings  of  inquisitive  little  Bunny  Brown  and  his  cunning,  trust- 
ful sister  Sue. 

Bunny  was  a  lively  little  boy,  very  inquisitive.  When  he  did 
anything,  Sue  followed  his  leadership.  They  had  many  adven- 
tures, some  comical  in  the  extreme. 

BUNNY  BROWN  AND  HIS  SISTER  SUE 

BUNNY    BROWN  AND  HIS  SISTER   SUE  ON  GRAND- 
PA'S  FARM 

AND    HIS    SISTER    SUE-  PLAYING 

BUNNY    BROWN    AND    HIS   SISTER   SUE    AT  CAMP 
REST-A-WHILE 

BUNNY   BROWN    AND   HIS   SISTER   SUE   AT  AUNT 
LU'S   CITY  HOME 

BUNNY   BROWN  AND  HIS  SISTER  SUE  IN  THE  BIG 
WOODS 

BUNNY  BROWN  AND  HIS  SISTER  SUE  ON  AN  AUTO 
TOUR 

BUNNY  BROWN  AND   HIS  SISTER  SUE  AND  THEIR 
SHETLAND  PONY 

BUNNY   BROWN   AND   HIS   SISTER    SUE   GIVING  A 
SHOW 

BUNNY    BROWN    AND  HIS  SISTER  SUE  AT  CHRIST- 
MAS  TREE  COVE 

GROSSET  &  DUN  LAP,          PUBLISHERS,          NEW  YORK, 


THE   BOBBSEY  TWINS    BOOKS 

For  Little  Men  and  Women 

By  LAURA  LEE  HOPE 

Author  of  "The  Bunny  Brown"  Series,  Etc. 

12mo.      DURABLY  BOUND.      ILLUSTRATED.      UNIFORM  STYLE  OF  BINDING 

Copyright  publications  which  cannot  be  obtained  else- 
where. Books  that  charm  the  hearts  of  the  little  ones, 
and  of  which  they  never  tire. 

THE  BOBBSEY  TWINS 

THE  BOBBSEY  TWINS  IN  THE  COUNTRY 

THE  BOBBSEY  TWINS  AT  THE  SEASHORE 

THE  BOBBSEY  TWINS  AT  SCHOOL 

THE  BOBBSEY  TWINS  AT  SNOW  LODGE 

THE  BOBBSEY  TWINS  ON  A  HOUSEBOAT 

THE  BOBBSEY  TWINS  AT  MEADOW  BROOK 

THE  BOBBSEY  TWINS  AT  HOME 

THE  BOBBSEY  TWINS  IN  A  GREAT  CITY 

THE    BOBBSEY   TWINS   ON   BLUEBERRY 
ISLAND 

THE  BOBBSEY  TWINS   ON  THE  DEEP  BLUE 
SEA 

THE  BOBBSEY  TWINS  IN  THE  GREAT  WEST 

GROSSET  &  DUNLAP,        PUBLISHERS,        NEW  YORK 


A    000  042  250     1 


